Pretense
by SassyAngel05
Summary: An explosion rocks Samarah's, a female pretender, world, forcing her to return with Jarod to Blue Cove to stop a telekinetic test subject from killing Miss Parker and company. SL, possible JMP THE END
1. Default Chapter

Title: Pretense

Author: Sassy

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Don't own any except Samarah and others that you don't recognize.

Pairing: S/L, and possibly J/MP, depends.

Summary: Set after Island of the Haunted.  An explosion rocks Samarah's, a female pretender, world, forcing her to return to Blue Cove with Jarod, hoping to stop a telekinetic test subject from killing Miss Parker and company.

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter One_**

**_Shock_**

****

****

            Samarah Gentry tossed the extra crayons into the bright red box she held in one hand.  Three children remained behind in her classroom as they waited for someone to come pick them up.  One held a doll in her arms, making it babble as she mothered it.  Samarah knelt down, "Addison, do you want to watch some cartoons?"

"No.  I'm playing with Miss Sugar."

"Miss Gentwy, do you have any new toys to play wif yet?"  Another girl asked innocently.

"I haven't had time to visit the toy store, Shae.  Soon, I promise you, though."

Samarah checked the clock.  The bell had rung twenty-five minutes ago.  Shae was usually the last to be picked up, but the twins, Addison and Taylor were usually the first to be picked up.  
"Taylor, did your mommy say she was going to be late today?"

"Nope, but I wanna watch cartoons, even if Addi doesn't."

"Okay."

Samarah straightened and headed over to the television just as Taylor tried to steal Addison's doll.  She yelped and Samarah quickly instructed that Taylor return the doll to his sister.  She flicked on the television, but instead of the show being the typical cartoons they watched, a special news bulletin was on.

"An explosion took place not far from the coast of Blue Cove, Delaware.  The research facility located there was evacuated.  Several casualties have been noted."

Samarah felt her heart drop as her mind raced to him.  Was he hurt?  Was Dr. Sydney?  Samarah sunk down into her desk chair.  Shae approached Samarah apprehensively, her chubby face warm and cautious all at the same time.

"Miss Gentwy, are you okay?  You look sad."  
"I'm fine, Sweetie.  Thank you for asking."

Addison moved in closer, this time kneeling in front of her teacher, feeling just as devoted to Samarah as every student in her kindergarten class did.  "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely positively okay.  I have to call someone right now, though.  So I need you all to be super quiet for me."

The three children nodded solemnly and sat down obediently.  Addison picked up the doll once more, in an attempt to play again.  Samarah offered them a sweet and comforting smile; once again thankful she could work with the children.  She picked up her phone, then, and punched in the familiar numbers. 

"Hello?"  His voice sounded guarded and rightfully so.  His number wasn't listed.  In fact, no one had his phone number.

"Jarod."  Her voice had always been distinct, something of an accent, yet still American.  However, it always made it quite obvious who was speaking, even when she only uttered one word.

"Samarah?!  I never thought I'd hear your voice again."

Samarah sighed, agreeing with Jarod's comment.  She hadn't thought she would ever talk to anyone from Blue Cove again.  She'd left everyone there behind.

"Jarod, have you seen the news?"

"About Blue Cove?  Yes.  It was set off near The Centre, but it didn't damage the building.  Several were found dead, but none have been identified."

"What if-" Samarah's voice trailed off at the thought of any of them dying.  

"It was Sydney or Miss Parker?  I don't know.  I plan on calling them as soon as the phone lines are repaired."

She actually hadn't been thinking about Dr. Sydney or Miss Parker.  She'd been thinking of him.  

"They're saying it was terrorists." Jarod added.

"It wasn't."  
"No.  Samarah, how did you find my number or do I even need to ask?"

"Well…"

"You're super smart and talented and pretended to be the head of a brand new phone company to steal the phone records of my current service provider."  
"No, actually, it was much simpler than that.  I've kept track of you since I-'left'."

Her eyes fell on each child that remained in her classroom, watching her with adoring eyes.

"We'll have to catch up later.  I've still got some students.  I'll be heading to Delaware as soon as I can."

"You know we're in danger if we go to Delaware."

Samarah sighed heavily, her distress reaching Jarod from across their connection.  

"Yes.  But we have to."

"I'll meet you in Dover at the airport.  Gate 119."

"Okay.  I'll see you later, Jarod."

"I can't wait to see you again, Little One."

Samarah hung up the phone, just as Addison and Taylor's father entered.  
"I'll be taking Shae off your hands today too."

"Great."

"Are you okay, Miss Gentry?" Even he could tell there was something wrong.

"I'm wonderful, Mr. McKenzie.  Thanks for asking."

Addison smiled at her teacher before hugging her.  "Everythin' will be all right, Miss Gentry."

"I know, Darlin'.  I'll see you all soon."

The three children toddled after Mr. McKenzie.  Samarah was alone again.  She turned to her computer, hacking in easily to the airports personnel records.  She needed to become a stewardess to get to Delaware.  And she needed to get there fast.

            Jarod was feeling ridiculously anxious as he stood in the Dover International Airport.  He had been near Blue Cove before, even closer than this, yet he was more nervous now than he had been before.  He couldn't shake the feeling that something terribly wrong was going to occur.  He could only hope that the feeling had nothing to do with him or Samarah being recaptured.  Speaking of Samarah, he had been wondering how she had escaped from The Centre.  When he had escaped with Eddie; it had only been out of necessity.  Jarod had wanted to stop Eddie from being terminated along with his program.  So he'd made way fro Eddie, and eventually Alex, but he'd always intended to come back.  He'd intended to come back for Samarah and Angelo and possibly Miss Parker.  He'd just never been able to.  He jumped as he felt a hand touch his arm.  He spun and found himself face to face with a stewardess.  She had long  blond hair tied back into a neat ponytail, her sparkling blue eyes looking wary and delighted all at once.

"Samarah?"  He threw his arm around her, careless of her uniform.  Samarah's eyes shut instinctively, allowing the warmth of Jarod's embrace slide over her.

"Jarod, I've missed you."

"I remember when you were just a little tyke-"

"I was fourteen."

"I was nineteen.  You were a child."

Samarah grinned and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She pulled her suitcase up and nodded towards the walkway.

"We should go."

"Afraid you'll be stuck on another plane?"

"Stewardesses are needed."

"How long have you been one?"

"Mmmm…five hours.  I'm actually a kindergarten teacher.  I have been for three years now."

"Kindergarten?"

"Call it my attempt at recapturing a lost childhood."

Jarod nodded in an understanding that only test subjects of The Centre could.  Unlike Jarod, Samarah hadn't been torn away from her family.  She'd been orphaned at age two and sent to an orphanage.  The Centre had 'adopted' her at the age of three, when she showed extraordinary talent and intelligence.  She'd never had a chance at a real childhood.  Being pushed into an orphanage and then taken to The Centre at such a young age, she didn't have a chance.  Jarod took the suitcase from Samarah and started walking. 

"My cab's out front."  
"Cabbie?"

"Today."

They laughed ironically as they headed to the front of the airport.

            Miss Parker sighed in irritation as Sydney entered the office.  They had been delayed ever since the explosion, first evacuated, than not allowed to leave.  The police wanted to make sure none of them had set the bomb.  Yeah, her and Cousin It had done it.  Sydney took a seat at the desk, since Miss Parker occupied the couch.

"The police are interviewing Dr. Raines right now.  We're next."

"Joy.  Have you heard from Wonder Boy?"

"The phone lines have been down.  He might have been trying to call."

Miss Parker accepted it, as she began to massage her temples with her well-manicured fingers.  She couldn't get any peace, though, with Broots fidgeting in the corner chair, trying desperately to find some cell phone service.  

"Debbie's going to be so worried.  She knows that The Centre is near the explosion, I bet.  She's going to wonder why I haven't called her."

"Debbie's growing up, Broots.  I'm sure she's worried, but she'll have to wait like everyone else.  Besides, she probably knows the phone lines are down."

"I hope so."  Broots waved his phone in the air, still trying to find reception.  Miss Parker rolled her eyes and leaned back.  
"This day has been Hell."

            Mr. Lyle sat at his desk and took a long sip of his whiskey.  He'd always kept a special stash in his office for the days that were especially hard.  This one definitely qualified.  There had been that pesky explosion set by one of The Centre's lab rats gone rogue.  What was it about this place that made everyone want to escape?  One of the test subjects were always off on some vigilante mission to mess up the entire Centre's foundations, without a second thought to who it would affect.  He took another gulp before slamming the glass down.  He was in no mood for the delay the genius police force were insisting upon.  He hadn't set the bomb and they weren't going to turn in who did.  "Actually, one of our kidnapped freaks were mad at us and wanted to kill us.  Instead, he killed others, but what does that matter?  Here, we'll hand him right over.  Sure, he's got the ability of telekinesis and can steal your gun in a matter of seconds, but that shouldn't affect anything."  He said it quietly and sarcastically, hoping that the police wouldn't choose that moment to interrogate him.  His mind wandered to other test subjects that were angry.  Jarod.  Ethan.  Angelo.  Cade.  Samarah.  His mind remained on Samarah, the beautiful young girl he'd met.  His mind wandered back to when he'd met her.

****

**_*Twenty-year-old Lyle stood outside a room with Dr. Raines and Mr. Parker.  He was new to The Centre and still wouldn't be working there regularly.  They were going to need him at another facility.  Honestly, he thought Dr. Raines was trying to keep him from someone at the main building, but he wasn't going to ask.  He was a little nervous, though he would never show it.  It was his first day on the job and he wanted to impress both of them.  Dr. Raines was explaining all of the experiments that took place within the corporation.  They were now looking in through the window at a beautiful young girl who wore a simple uniform of sweatpants and a t-shirt.  She sat on thin mattress, the only extra adornment in the room. _**

**_"Samarah, number 579.  She's our only female pretender.  She's sent out into the world to complete some of Jarod's simulations.  Sometimes the highest bidder actually wants the vaccine to be administered or the weapon destroyed or the witness saved.  It depends.  Alex corrupts them, then performs each task.  Samarah takes each one and performs the good deed.  It always varies on who will be working outside; the buyer determines it.  She's not allowed to have anything in her room, because we have a hard enough time controlling her since she sees how things are outside of The Centre.  The saying knowledge is power applies here.  _**

**_            "Samarah was taken from an orphanage once we saw her extreme talent.  She is only a step below Jarod, which is extraordinary, since she is female.  She has been at The Centre since she was three.  Jacob began her training, but he fell into a coma only a year after her work was begun.  Sydney, Tommy Thompson and I have been alternating who works with her.  We'll take you in to meet her, but only for a moment."_**

**_Lyle nodded, as if it were completely normal to hear what he had just been told.  Samarah turned when the door open.  "Dr. Raines, hello."_**

**_Her voice was melodic and soothing.  She had one of those voices that Lyle wouldn't have cared if she babbled on about nothing as long as she would just talk._**

**_"Hello, Samarah."_**

**_Samarah's eyes fell on Lyle and he felt like he'd been punched.  She was stunning, even in the simplicity of her uniform and absolutely no make up.  Even her eyes were innocent, despite what she was put though daily._**

**_"Are you going to be my new doctor?"_**

**_Lyle shook his head.  "No.  I've just started working here, but I'm not a doctor."_**

**_"You have other projects, though."  
"Yes, I suppose I will."_**

**_Samarah smiled at him, then and stood up.  
"I'm Samarah.  I don't have a usual last name.  It changes a lot."  
"When you work. I know.  I'm Lyle."_**

**_"It's good to meet you, Lyle."  Samarah turned after that and returned to her seat.  She'd dismissed him.  And he didn't mind.*_**

            Lyle sighed as he recalled Samarah.  He missed her.  He shouldn't.  She probably didn't miss him.  She probably didn't even think about him.  He wouldn't have, if he were in her place.  He downed the rest of his whiskey in an attempt to forget her.


	2. Familiarity

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Two_**

**_Familiarity_**

****

            Jarod was working on his computer, rerouting the telephone signal through different locations.  They were in Blue Cove and he didn't want any warning bells to go off when he was talking to Miss Parker and Sydney.  He'd had a bad feeling about this revisit home and he would take every precaution.  He had to protect Samarah now, too.  It wasn't just him.  He couldn't just pick up and disappear to his next destination like he usually did.  Samarah would have to disappear also which would be a bit harder with them traveling together.  Samarah bounced over to the desk he was working at and perched herself on the edge.  "Has Dr. Jacob woken up from his coma yet?  I've never been able to keep up with Dr. Jacob.  Dr. Sydney has hid him well."

Jarod's face softened in sympathy, but it only made Samarah's heart drop instead of comfort her.

"What is it?"

"Jacob died a few years ago."

Samarah didn't know how to react.  Dr. Jacob had been her first doctor, her favorite doctor.  He had been kind and good and he'd tried his best to help her adjust to life at The Centre.  She'd missed him at first.  Dr. Jacob had been like a surrogate father to her.  She'd been without one for so long that at the first sign of love, she'd latched onto it.  Dr. Jacob had shown fatherly love to her.  In a world that was so lonely for a tiny girl, Dr. Jacob had made her feel so safe.  Unlike Dr. Raines.

"I'm sorry, Samarah."

"I'm okay." 

Jarod reached up and took her hand to squeeze it.  "We've all lost people, Little One.  My brother Kyle died.  And others have as well."

"I know.  I'll be all right.  I promise."

"Are you ready to call?   You can talk to Sydney about Jacob."

"I'm ready.  Are you?"

Jarod smiled.  Samarah was one of the few people who understood how hard it was to call The Centre.  Jarod dialed the number quickly.

            "You have a video phone call."  The automated voice broke Sydney from the silent tension that had filled the office.  Sydney grinned and shot Miss Parker a look that plainly said, 'See, I told you he'd call when he got a chance.'  Broots and Miss Parker walked around behind Sydney's desk while Sydney accepted the call.

"Jarod!" His voice conveyed a delight he didn't even try to mask.  

"You knew it was me, Sydney.  I'm touched."

"You are the only one who calls me by video phone."

Jarod nodded, knowing it was true.  

"I see you are well.  I hope Miss Parker and Broots are unhurt as well."

"You were worried about us?"  Miss Parker asked mockingly as she ducked down enough for Jarod to see her on the video frame.  She looked flawless and angry as per usual.  Broots didn't say anything, just listened intently to the conversation.  
"Ah, Miss Parker.  I see the explosion only made you angrier."

"I've been stuck at The Centre for over fourteen hours.  Of course it did."

"_Watch your step._  You never know what might happen."

"What is that supposed to mean, Jarod?  I'm in no mood to play with your riddles today."

"I don't force you to play, Miss Parker."

The two stared at each other intensely, each challenging the other in a way only Miss Parker and Jarod could master.  

Jarod said, breaking his and Miss Parker's gaze, "Listen, Sydney, I have someone else here who wants to speak with you."

"I'm intrigued."  

Jarod stood from the chair and Samarah took his place in front of the computer.

"Hi, Dr. Sydney."

"Samarah!"

Sydney's entire face lit up at the sight of the young blond.  Miss Parker leaned closer, examining the girl on the screen.  She seemed almost familiar, but Miss Parker couldn't quite place her.

"Jarod told me about Dr. Jacob.  I'm so sorry about his death.  He was a good man, Dr. Sydney."

"Yes, he was.  You were very dear to his heart, Samarah.  He'd become very attached to you in such a short time.  When he woke from his coma, he asked how you were doing.  I believe he was quite ecstatic about your escape."

Broots finally cut in timidly, "She-she escaped?  Who is she, Sydney?"

Sydney replied casually, not taking his eyes off the computer, "A female pretender.  The only female pretender.  She escaped four years ago."

"Yes.  I was away and-"  Samarah cut herself off.  She'd felt so comfortable talking to Sydney she'd almost revealed how she had gotten away from The Centre's claws.

"Anyway, Dr. Jacob was my first project doctor.  When he fell into a coma, I was bounced between other doctors, Mr. Broots."

Broots jumped at the use of his name.  He didn't know her.  He'd never sent his girl in his life and she knew who he was?

"How'd you know my name?"

"I try to keep updated on all of The Centre's employees and exploits.  I've succeeded in following the team that has been searching for Jarod.  All three of you.  Don't worry, Mr. Broots, we haven't met.  You haven't forgotten…"

She trailed off when she noticed that the three on the screen had looked up at the sound of a door opening and shutting.  They were so silent as if they'd been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

"What did I miss?"

Samarah froze.  She knew that voice.  It was him.  She would have hung up immediately if she thought it was physically possible for her to, but she was paralyzed with fear and disbelief.  He pushed through Miss Parker and Broots.  Samarah could only stare at him; the entire situation seemed surreal.  She didn't know what she had expected.  She was making contact with people that worked at The Centre.  He worked at The Centre.

"Samarah…"

Jarod noticed the surprised look on Sydney's face; the possibility that Lyle and Samarah knew each other had seemed slim.  Miss Parker and Broots seemed just as shocked, shock that mirrored Jarod's.  Yet the look on Lyle's face said it all.  Surprise.  Bliss.  Fear.  Confusion.  Lyle knelt down in front of the computer reverently.

"I thought I would never see you again."  His voice was gentle, something none of them had heard.  

"I intended for you not to."

Samarah pushed away from the desk, jumping to her feet.  Her hand moved to disconnect the line, but hearing Lyle's voice made her hesitate.

"Don't hang up, baby girl, please."

Endearments?  They were familiar with each other.

"I missed you."

Samarah's finger pushed the end button and the screen went black.  
"I missed you, too."  She whispered it almost inaudibly.

            Jarod approached Samarah slowly.  She was dazed and unbeknownst to her; several tears had escaped from her crystal blue eyes.  He'd seen many responses to Lyle's presence, but he'd never seen a remorseful one.  Jarod slipped his arms around Samarah, pulling her into a brotherly hug.  Samarah took a deep breath, calming her raging emotions.  

"I didn't know you knew Lyle."

Samarah nodded into his chest and mumbled, "Yeah.  I met him when I was sixteen.  He'd just started working at The Centre.  He was twenty-one."

Jarod pulled Samarah back enough where he could look into her eyes.

"You were isolated, Samarah.  I only met with you nine or ten times during our entire stay at The Centre.  You had no way to enter your cell except through the guarded door.  How did Lyle meet you?"

A nostalgic look crossed over her features as she told Jarod how she'd met Lyle.  
"Dr. Raines was showing him around and introduced Lyle to me.  Three months later, Lyle came to visit me.  He did, three times a week.  The guards always thought he was the head of a project concerning me.  He had the credentials to work with me and if they questioned him, he would give them a speech about harassing their superiors.  He visited me every week for three years.  That's when things changed."

"What changed?"

Samarah had closed her eyes, already lost in the memories of Lyle's visits.  Jarod wasn't even sure if she could hear him.

***_Samarah sat on her bed, staring at the wall.  She was very bored.  Lights were out, but she wasn't tired.  Not yet.  It had been a slow day for her; no simulations and no missions.  She had simply wasted the day away by sitting in her room.  Dr. Lexan had taken her for a walk around The Centre.  She'd seen Jarod and another boy playing some kind of a game.  She wasn't allowed to play games.  She wasn't allowed to do much of anything.  That was why she liked going out into the world on her jobs.  She could be around normal people and watch television and listen to the radio.  She could play on computers and learn different games and eat junk food like Twinkies and Ding Dongs.  She was free for a few days, but she always had to return after the job was over.  Samarah groaned and flopped back in her bed in a dramatic motion.  She had nothing to entertain herself with.  Just a blanket and a pillow.  She closed her eyes, trying to find sleep or at least make up a story in her head, but she was disturbed by a commotion in the hall.  The door burst open and that man from a few weeks ago entered, smoothing his jacket._**

**_"Good evening, Samarah."_**

**_She lifted herself up and scooted to the edge of the bed, curious as to why she had such a late visitor.  Actually, she almost never had visitors._**

**_"Mr. Lyle.  Do you need something?"_**

**_He shook his head with a boyish grin on his face._**

**_"I just wanted to talk to you."_**

**_"A new mission?"_**

**_She was so serious; Lyle found it both entertaining and irresistible.  He laughed, something he did rarely, but it sounded beautiful, like a little boy's. _**

**_"No.  I just wanted to talk to you.  About you.  About me.  About nothing at all.  And that sounded dangerously close to a pick up line."_**

**_Samarah tilted her head acutely, strengthening her appearance of an innocent child._**

**_"What's a pick up line?"_**

**_"See.  Something to talk about."_**

**_"You want a regular conversation."  She stated, yet it was a question as well.  She'd let the pick up line question slide for a moment, but they would get back to it.  At least she hoped they would.  She liked to learn about new things._**

**_"Yes, Samarah."_**

**_"Is this a test?  To see if I'm trying to defect from The Centre, looking for freedom and all that? I'm really tired of those tests."_**

**_Lyle shook his head again, a worried look striking his eyes as she said that._**

**_"Of course not.  They don't know I'm here.  If they did, I'd be in a lot of trouble."_**

**_Samarah blew a long blond strand of hair out of her face, trying to decide if she trusted him or not._**

**_"Well, okay.  But only if you'll tell me what a pick up line is."_**

**_Lyle loosened his tie with a huge smile, taking a seat next to her.*_**

****

            "Did you hear me?"  Jarod snapped his fingers in front of her face.  Samarah blinked, trying to push the memory away from her foggy brain.  She wanted to push Lyle away from her brain, also, but she'd been trying to do that for four years.

"Have you found anything out about project WYS (wise)?"

Jarod sighed.  "Don't change the subject.  We were talking about Lyle."

As if she were a two-year-old throwing a tantrum, she folded her arms across her chest.  "I'm done talking about him."

She stomped away, leaving Jarod well aware that he shouldn't try to follow her.

            Lyle straightened after staring at the blank screen for a few moments.  He was embarrassed at his pleading with Samarah; his weakness displayed in front of his sister, Broots, and Sydney.  No one had even realized that he knew the young pretender, much less been in love with her.  It seemed obvious now, to everyone.  Of course, the others had a hard time believing Mr. Lyle had any kind of feelings.  His love for Samarah dashed every preconception people had about him.  Seeing Samarah again, hearing her hypnotic voice had tossed him into an abyss of disappointment and pain.  All he could hear was, "_I don't know what happened to you, but I hate what you've become,_" over and over again in his head.  The words were deafening and he felt like he was twenty-four again.

"You knew Samarah, Lyle?"  Miss Parker asked a bit intrudingly.  

"Obviously."

Sydney glanced at him, more questions in his eyes.  "Samarah wasn't one of your projects.  How did you know her?  She was isolated for the majority of her life."

"Yes, she was."

Lyle started to walk to the door, deciding to just completely stop the Spanish Inquisition he was about to be thrown into.  

"You didn't answer my question."

Lyle opened the door, "I don't intend to."  He was no longer interested in their conversation.  He wouldn't talk to them about Samarah.  They wouldn't understand.  No one else knew about his relationship with Samarah.  The less he talked about it, the better.  He didn't want to put her in danger or himself.  He shut the door behind him with a resounding click.

            "What was that exactly?"  Miss Parker asked, turning towards Sydney.  He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know.  I know Samarah.  I know she wasn't allowed much contact with anyone except her doctors. I don't even know how Lyle gained access to her."

Miss Parker narrowed her eyes, irritated that another mystery had been presented to her.  She was so tired of everyone hiding something all the time.  Everyone at The Centre were pretenders.  What did they need Jarod and Samarah for?

"I'll start looking for DSA's that involve Samarah, Miss Parker."

"Yeah.  We're going to need to find out what happened, Broots."  

"Wait, Broots," Sydney cut in, "shouldn't we be looking for what Jarod warned us about?"

"He didn't give us any hints.  Maybe he didn't have time.  But until we get one, are we supposed to read his mind?"

Sydney smiled proudly, as a father would if his son had achieved some great accomplishment.  "Maybe his words are our hint.  Watch your step.  He stressed those words.  Play with the words.  Broots, I'll look for the DSA's."

Broots nodded obediently and exited the office to work on his computer.  Sydney stood and began digging around in his files of DSA's, leaving Miss Parker to think about what Jarod had said, and Lyle's relationship with Samarah.

            He chuckled to himself quietly.  So that was how he could get to Mr. Lyle.  Samarah.  He vaguely remembered her.  He'd seen her in the corridors of The Centre occasionally, but she was usually locked up.  Unlike him.  He was hard to lock up.  Had trouble keeping him from getting out with a flick of his eyes.  He'd been younger when he'd first seen Samarah, probably seventeen or eighteen. She'd been quiet and submissive, just as she'd been taught.  They were all taught to be submissive.  It made them easier to mold.  Just thinking about his younger years disgusted him.  He turned in the air ducts, but not before bumping into another in them.  Angelo's eyes widened in fear.  

"Cade!'  He'd touched Cade and he was suddenly very violent.  "NO! NOOOOO-OOOO!"

Angelo began to shout and bang his head on the overhead metal.  Cade flicked his eyes, pushing Angelo far down the shaft.  Cade scrambled out, worried that someone might have heard Angelo's yell.  The goons at The Centre wouldn't be pleased at the little present he'd sent them.  


	3. Cade

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Three_**

**_Cade_**

****

            Samarah finally returned after spending a few hours alone.  Jarod had stayed in the living room of their hotel, typing on his computer, gathering information about WYS.  Jarod had only met Cade twice.  Cade was incredibly intelligent and he was the star of the Centre.  Well, apparently that had changed.  Cade was one of Lyle's first projects or first test subjects, depending on who was talking.  He was a protégé; he was everything the Centre had wanted.  Cade was obedient, talented, and special.  He was one of the few projects that had gone right.  Of course, the Centre had remained oblivious to his anger building at the misuse of his gift.  Telekinesis wasn't meant to be used for murder.  It'd proven to be easy to kill people with that gift.  He could send a knife to a given target from a mile away and never get caught.  But now Cade's wrath had turned on to the people who had developed his talent.  And Jarod understood the repercussions of a subject turning on the Centre.  He was one of them.  Fortunately for them, he didn't really want them dead.  He hoped Cade didn't want Miss Parker dead.  Or Sydney.  Or Broots.  Or Angelo.  But they could get caught in the crossfire, even if Cade didn't want them hurt.  He couldn't stand to see that happen. 

            Samarah placed her hand on Jarod's shoulder, bringing him out of his tumultuous thoughts.  She seemed calmer than before, but he could still sense her pain.  Seeing Lyle again had obviously thrown her for a loop.  Jarod could almost understand that, since he felt the same when he saw Sydney and Miss Parker.  But Lyle was evil and Sydney and Miss Parker were not.  Jarod smiled at her encouragingly, trying his best to make her feel better.  He hated seeing his friend in pain.  Samarah didn't deserve to be in so much pain.  She'd already been through enough.  They all had.  He knew it was time to talk to her about Cade.  Since Samarah had been in isolation for the majority of her life, she may not even know that Cade had become one of Lyle's pet projects.  For all he knew, Samarah didn't think Lyle was evil at all.  They had history, but Lyle could have easily kept his true nature hidden.  Since Samarah was so naïve from her isolation, it was possible for him to have fooled her.  She might not have been able to see his lies due to her inexperience.  Then again, he probably wasn't giving her enough credit.  She was sent out into the world when the others were not.  She may be better at detecting lies than he was.   Finally, he decided he would just tell her about Cade and Lyle.  She didn't need protecting from the truth.  The truth had a habit of coming out anyways, so he might as well be up front with her from the start.

"Project WYS."

"Yes.  Cade. The telekinetic thirty-two year old."

"You know that the project was transferred to Mr. Lyle, don't you?  About seven and a half years ago."

"Yes.  I know."

"You do?"  Jarod seemed genuinely surprised that Samarah was aware of Lyle's projects.  Little did Jarod know, Cade was the reason Samarah had grown disillusioned with the Centre and Lyle.  Maybe she would tell Jarod about the incident, but not yet.  She wasn't ready.

"Yeah.  I know.  I met Cade when I was seventeen."

****

**_Samarah was being let out of her cell.  Of course, she still had sweepers on either side of her, but she wasn't in her cell, which was the most important thing to her.  She grew tired of staring at the blank walls all day long.  She didn't care what she had to do, as long as it didn't involve her returning to her small room.  Dr. Raines had come into her cell to let her know about her release.  They wanted her to meet someone, another special person.  He had a different talent than hers.  This boy could move things with his mind.  He wasn't a whole lot older than her, probably not much older than Lyle.  He was twenty-three.  Samarah was just excited at the prospect of meeting someone new.  Actually, she was just excited at the prospect of seeing anyone._**

****

**_            Samarah entered a large room and immediately surveyed the area.  In the center of the room, a table and two chairs were set.  A boy was sitting in one of the chairs, looking incredibly bored.  She knew the bored feeling, but she had hoped he would be as excited about meeting her as she was of meeting him.  Apparently, he wasn't excited about meeting her._**

**_"Cade, this is Samarah.  She's a pretender."_**

**_He glanced at her indifferently.  He didn't speak or smile.  He hardly even acknowledged her at all.  Samarah walked forward, taking the chair opposite of Cade.  She wanted to talk to him, but he didn't seem very open for conversation.  She watched him for a few more minutes until he broke the silence._**

**_"Stop looking at me already.  It's not like you've never seen a man before."_**

**_Her eyes had narrowed considerably at his comment.  First, he didn't say anything to her and now he was griping at her.  She hated it when people were rude._**

**_ "Well, you didn't even say hello.  I was watching you because I was afraid to talk to you.  I thought you might bite my head off."_**

**_"I might still if you don't stop staring at me."_**

**_Samarah stood angrily, wondering which was worse, meeting this guy or staying in her room all day.  Well, she wasn't going to take his treatment of her.  She had plenty of other guys being cruel to her.  Dr. Raines for one.  He wouldn't be happy if they didn't talk at all.   She had to try to talk to Cade to avoid the consequences of defying Dr. Raines._**

**_"You have no right to talk to me that way.  Dr. Raines wanted us to meet.  It's not like I had a big choice in this matter. "_**

**_"You were staring at me like I was a freak."_**

**_"We're all freaks here at the Centre.  I pretend to be someone I'm not.  You move things with your mind.  Big deal.  Get over it.  You're older than me, but you act like you're five."_**

**_Cade flicked his eyes and the chair moved back against Samarah, knocking her down.  Samarah glared at him from the floor and stood up indignantly.  She wanted to punch him, but she'd face consequences if she did.  So instead she turned on her heel and went to bang on the door for James to let her out.  James was the only sweeper she liked and he probably wouldn't force her to stay in the room with the jerk, despite his orders.  He did let her out and Samarah only stopped to glance back at Cade.  He was angry at being used by the Centre, which Samarah understood.  What she didn't understand was why he was taking it out on her.  She walked on through the door and didn't look back again._**

****

            "He was cruel. I met Cade a few times also.  He was always so angry, especially when Lyle took charge of him. I can understand being angry with Lyle around-"

Jarod glanced down.  He'd forgotten that Samarah actually liked the guy.  Or used to. 

"Anyway, Cade was the basis of project WYS.  He's been used in several key diplomatic assassinations.  He can be a mile away and kill someone with just a flick of his eyes.  He just has to concentrate on what he's using to commit the murder.  If he used a knife, police would look for a stabber that would be near the victim.  Not someone from a mile away."

Samarah nodded at what he said.  She'd gathered as much when she'd found out about Cade's recent training when she'd still been at the Centre.  She'd discovered Lyle was in charge of Cade the way Dr. Raines was in charge of her.  She wasn't sure who had left her the file, but it had been in her cell when she'd returned from a job.  She'd reacted badly, but realistically.  She'd allowed herself to feel for Lyle and he'd been betraying her the whole time.  She'd felt so angry with him and she'd let him know it.  Samarah shook her head, no longer wishing to relive her days with Lyle.  She had to focus on what Jarod was telling her.  He was explaining his plan to bring Cade down.

            Cade stood outside a small motel building.  He'd tracked Samarah and Jarod to the building.  They were surprisingly easy to find, considering the Centre had been searching for Jarod for years.  Cade was also surprised that Jarod would be so close to the Centre.  He'd underestimated Jarod's attachment to Miss Parker and Dr. Sydney.  Well, lucky for Jarod, he wasn't after them.  He just needed Samarah.  Cade climbed the stairs quietly, not wanting to alert Samarah and Jarod of a new presence on their floor.  He stood outside room 254C and examined the doorknob.  It was locked at the moment, but he would remedy that easily.  He focused on the metal and could see in his mind the turning of the gages that kept the door lock.  He heard the click and he tried the door handle.  It opened easily.  And the look on Jarod and Samarah's face was priceless.  Jarod jumped to his feet but Cade punched him before Jarod even had a chance to fight back.  Jarod fell to the floor unconscious as Cade grabbed a hold of Samarah.  
"I never really liked you, Samarah, so I don't regret doing this."  He placed some chlorophyll over her mouth and picked her up as she slumped.  He carried her away from the room, away from Jarod.

            Miss Parker had called Broots into her office.  Sydney was already there waiting for her explanation.  She'd found something.  Or rather she'd be given something.  She'd left her office for lunch and when she'd returned, a DSA was sitting on her desk, propped up next to her computer.  She'd popped it into her computer and watched it feeling completely fascinated.  Now she was going to share it with everyone.

"This has to do with Lyle and Samarah.  I haven't found anything on project WYS, but this explains part of Lyle's relationship with Samarah."

The two crowded around the screen as she pushed the play button. 

**_Samarah was laying on her bed, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.  The door opened quietly and she jumped up excitedly.  _**

**_"Lyle!"_**

**_He shut the door with a click.  He was smiling and just looked generally happy.  He shed his suit jacket before wrapping his arms around Samarah.  She leaned into him, pulling him down for a kiss.  They seemed like a normal couple for a second, if they weren't locked in a private cell with almost no adornment at all.  _**

**_"I'm glad you're back, baby girl.  I always worry about you when you are away."_**

**_"Why?  This wasn't that much different from any of my other missions.  I was just being a teacher."_**

**_"So you could test a child."  
"On her intelligence."_**

**_"So she could be used as a test subject if she passed."_**

**_Samarah's eyes widened as she studied Lyle.  He couldn't possibly be telling the truth.  The Centre would have had to kidnap that girl for her to work at the Centre.  They wouldn't do that.  Would they?  Lyle's face softened as he watched the surprise fall across her features.  She hadn't known why she was testing the girl.  A wave of remorse and guilt crashed over him, but he immediately squashed the feelings.  He had no say over Samarah's assignments, so he couldn't possibly feel guilty about what she'd been sent to do.  She was the one that didn't question her assignments.  _**

**_"You didn't know, did you, Samarah?"_**

**_"No.  You aren't serious are you?  Lyle, tell me I didn't just send another child here."_**

**_"You didn't send her here."_**

**_"So you weren't serious?"_**

**_Lyle didn't answer, just kissed her soundly.  Samarah pulled away to take another breath, their foreheads pressed together.  She loved Lyle, even if she didn't understand the feeling very well.  He made her feel safe and comfortable and happy and she just wanted to be with him so badly sometimes.  She took another deep breath, enjoying his scent.  He smelled slightly of aftershave, a scent she'd become accustomed to and enjoyed quite a bit.  Lyle's hand rose to cup her cheek.  He lifted her head so she would meet his gaze._**

**_"I love you, Samarah."  _**

**_Lyle didn't know what had possessed him to tell Samarah he loved her.  He knew he did, but he'd never planned on telling her.  Maybe it was the guilt he was trying so desperately to cleanse himself of that had driven him to tell her.  Maybe by telling her his feelings, he would be off the hook.   Maybe he was diluting himself.  No matter what caused him to blurt it out, the look of pure pleasure on her face made up for whatever doubts he was having._**

**_"I love you, too, Lyle."_**

****

Miss Parker looked up to see Sydney and Broots' reactions.  They seemed as surprised as she had been when she'd seen this tender Lyle.  He was kind to Samarah.  He was gentle with Samarah, even.  Kind and gentle were not words associated with Lyle.  Evil.  Cold.  Cruel.  Psychotic.  Yeah.  Kind.  Gentle.  Loving.  No.  Broots was the first to comment.  
"Lyle was in love with a pretender, a subject of the Centre?  That must have gone over well with the Triumvirate."  
"Unless they didn't know.  If you'll notice the time on that scene, it was pretty late at night.  It was almost as if Lyle snuck in to see her."   

Sydney tilted his head.  "Lyle having a clandestine love affair with property of the Centre hardly seems real, but it seems to be the best explanation.  That would explain all of the tension between Samarah and Lyle on the phone earlier."

"So it would." 

The three turned their attention back on the screen, where a frozen image of Lyle and Samarah stayed.  They seemed happy.  What had happened?  Why had Lyle become so evil?  And why had Samarah left?


	4. Pretender Lost

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Four_**

**_Pretender Lost_**

            Lyle sat in his office, staring into space.  He was supposed to be searching for Cade, but he couldn't concentrate.  He hadn't been able to concentrate since the moment he'd seen Samarah on the computer screen.  He was drowning in his memories of her and there was no escaping them.  He no longer cared about his projects or assignments for the Centre.  He didn't have the energy to care.  He was consumed with the need to find Samarah and make things right with her.  Of course, there was no making things right with her, but that didn't stop him from wanting to.  He wasn't going to apologize to her.  He wasn't sorry about what he'd done.  He was only sorry she was hurt.  Lyle drummed his fingers on his glass-topped desk, trying to find something else to focus on besides regretting what had happened with Samarah.  He needed to find something to do that would catch his attention.  Suddenly, a wave of anxiety hit him as the oddest feeling struck.  Something was wrong.  He could feel it deep inside.  He wondered sometimes if Parker's sixth sense had also been bred in him too.  He just didn't know how to listen to it, maybe.  Just as he calmed himself down, his phone rang.  He jerked it up before the piercing ring assaulted his ears again.

"Lyle."

"Hey, there, buddy.  What's going on?"

Lyle hesitated, trying to place the voice.  No one called him buddy.  Not even the people he said were his friends.

"Cade?"

"You know my voice.  I guess that happens when you put me in solitary confinement to be tortured, as a practice for expanding my gift, and all you can hear is my screams.  Although, I'm sure that didn't stick with you. You're probably used to hearing screams."

"That was a delightful display of your power the other day.  How'd you set the bomb off?  Trigger?"

"You know better than to ask that."

"I honestly thought you'd contact me sooner.  You know, to take credit and brag about the little mishap.  It had us delayed here for hours.  I found it quite annoying.  I had to break a date."

"Shame.  I'm sure Samarah would be heartbroken to find out you're dating again.  I wonder if it's possible to actually break a heart."

Lyle let out a soft breath, trying to stay calm.  Cade had brought Samarah up deliberately.  Why would he do that?'

"Samarah?  I haven't seen Samarah in many years, Cade."

"Yes, but you still love her.  Or so you think.  I guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

"How will we find out?"

"It was lovely talking to you again, Lyle.  I've missed our heart-to-heart conversations."

"Cade?  Cade, don't hang up!  Cade!"  Lyle realized he was panicking.  Cade probably didn't even know where Samarah was.  How could he?  The Centre couldn't even find her.  The click on the other end told him the conversation was over and the worst thing was, he'd let his weakness show.  Now Cade would be determined to find Samarah because he'd lost his cool with Cade on the phone.  Lyle cursed silently as he jumped out of his chair.  He stormed towards Miss Parker's office to ask her for help, no matter how humbling that experience would be.  She would help him.  She had a soft spot for lost pretenders.

            Jarod awoke suddenly with a sharp, shooting pain in the back of his head.  A bit of blood matted his hair and he had the congealed substance on his forehead, but it wasn't enough to make him terribly worried.  He would be okay.  He took a deep breath, trying to adjust to his surroundings.  Where was he?  A hotel room.  Good.  The Centre hadn't found him.  What had happened?  Samarah!  He bolted upright and glanced around.  She was nowhere to be seen.  Where was the pretty little pretender?  Cade had been the one to barge through those doors and knock him out.  He must have taken Samarah.  Panic set in. He hadn't been able to protect Samarah.  He'd been pushed down without much of a fight and he'd left Samarah fending for herself.  He didn't have a doubt that she was a master at fending for herself, but still, he felt like he should have been able to protect her.  Hopefully, Cade wouldn't feel the need to hurt a fellow test subject of The Centre's.  Maybe he just wanted to use her abilities.  Oh, who was he kidding?  Cade wanted to use Samarah to get back at Lyle, the unfeeling jerk who wouldn't lift a finger to help Samarah.  He'd probably think she deserved it since she ran away.  But then again, he did seem to care about her.  He had seen it when the two had spoken on the phone.  Maybe Lyle would help them get Samarah away from Cade.  Jarod moved towards his laptop, still in tact.  He dialed the phone number to Sydney's office and waited for them to pick up.  Sydney's face appeared on screen first.

            "Sydney!" Jarod seemed worried, panicked almost.  Sydney became instantly upset at the sight of Jarod, blood covering his forehead and his neck.

"Jarod?  What's wrong?  Why is there blood on your forehead?  What happened?"  Sydney leaned closer to the screen, as if he thought it would make him closer to Jarod. 

"There was a bit of an accident.  Have you heard from Cade lately?"  
"Cade?"

"One of Lyle's projects.  Has he contacted The Centre?"

"Not that I know of.  Jarod, what is this about?"

"Samarah's gone.  Cade broke in, knocked me over the head and took Samarah."

The door had opened as Sydney listened to Jarod.  It was Lyle.  His heart sank as he heard Jarod speak the words he'd been dreading.  He had been holding on to the unrealistic hope that Samarah was alive and well with Jarod.  He had almost wanted to warn Jarod about Cade coming after Samarah, but he was too late for that.  Samarah was now getting the backlash of his assignments.  Lyle walked to the computer briskly and pushed Sydney out of the way.  He was now face-to-face with Jarod.  He didn't look too happy at seeing Lyle, but he didn't hang up immediately.  That's when Lyle knew how serious the situation was.  Jarod was afraid for Samarah.  And if Jarod was afraid for her, Lyle knew he should be too.

"He really took her then."  
"You knew he was going to?"  Jarod's voice conveyed his anger at the thought of Lyle concealing Cade's threats. 

"I just got a call from Cade, bragging about the bomb.  Then, he started talking about Samarah.  I got the impression he was going to go after her.  I guess he already did."

"Yes, a few hours ago.  He must have taken her after he knocked me out.  There's no clues here of where he's taken her."  
"Well, pretend you're Cade."  
"It doesn't work that way, Lyle."  
"Well, you could try it that way.  I could get Angelo to start impathing Cade if you would start working your magic.  We could find her that way."  
"Do you care if we find Samarah?  Or do you just want to find your pet project?"

"Just do it, Jarod."

Jarod disconnected the phone call before Lyle could say anymore.  Lyle cursed and slammed his fist down on the desk.  His eyes flashed dangerously as he straightened himself up. 

"Get Angelo, Sydney.  Now."

Sydney nodded, prepared to appease Lyle at any cost.  He looked like he was ready to kill something.  And Sydney didn't really want to get caught in that line of fire.  Apparently, Lyle really cared about the young pretender.  Apparently, Lyle really cared about something.

            Broots bumbled into Miss Parker's office awkwardly, clutching a DSA close to his chest.  Miss Parker looked up at the disturbance and saw the look on Broots' face. 

"What'd you find?"  
"A fight between Samarah and Lyle.  I think it might explain some things.  It mentions Project WYS."

Miss Parker scooted her chair over so Broots would have access to the computer.  He slid the small disk into the drive and waited for it to come on.  They stared at the screen, fascinated.

**_"I can't believe you, Lyle!"  Samarah's hands were on her hip, her blue eyes flashing immeasurable anger.  She looked like a woman who had just been betrayed by the man she trusted most in the world.  Lyle stood defensively near the door, his hands folded across his chest in a protective posture.  His tie was crooked and he looked like he hadn't slept in a couple of days._**

**_"WYS is a project, Samarah.  It's nothing personal to you.  WYS is just another project."  
"I'm a project, Lyle.  That doesn't mean it's right.  I mean, you always said you hated the way Raines treats me."  
"I do.  You deserve so much more than this.  You deserve a life."_**

**_"And so does everyone else at the Centre!  All of us deserve to be out, allowed to live our lives.  The Centre shouldn't even exist!"_**

**_Samarah looked like she was ready to throw something at Lyle.  Of course, she had nothing in her cell to throw except for a pillow.  And she did throw it.  It hit him squarely in the head and he started to laugh.  Which was definitely the wrong thing to do._**

**_"This isn't funny, Lyle.  I trusted you.  I believed you when you said you wanted me out of here.  I stayed here to be with you, even when you devised that escape plan for me.  I stayed here because I loved you.  I don't even remember why I loved you now."_**

**_"Samarah, I think you're blowing this out of proportion."_**

**_"Of course you do.  I mean, Cade is just another job, right?  You were given the project.  It's not like you had a choice."_**

**_"Actually, I had a choice.  WYS is a good advancement for my career."  
"Oh, and what a career it is.  His name is Cade, by the way.  If you insist on calling him by his project name, then you must call me Mirror."_**

**_"You're more than a project, Samarah."_**

**_He walked towards her, his hands out to touch her.  She shied away from his touch, flinched when his hand reached her arm.  He stepped back like she'd burned him.  In a way, she had.  She was disgusted by his touch._**

**_"I thought you were on my side, Lyle.  I thought you were just another victim of circumstance, like me, a victim of The Centre."_**

**_Lyle watched her, feeling the same attraction to her as he always had.  She was so beautiful angry, so stubborn in what she thought, so headstrong.  She was so fascinating, but he had the feeling if he told her what he was thinking, she would be even more disgusted.  She was really mad at him._**

**_"Samarah, don't make this about us.  WYS has nothing to do with us."_**

**_"It has everything to do with us.  It has to do with who you've become.  _**

**_I always believed that you had my best interests at heart.  I always thought you were here by force, not choice.  I loved you; I loved who you were.  I don't know what happened to you, but I hate what you've become."_**

**_Lyle turned immediately, no longer wanting to hear anymore of that conversation.  The hurt on his face showed for a moment before he quickly disguised it.  He opened the door to Samarah's cell without remorse.  As he shut the door, he turned with one more word, "In the end, it doesn't matter what you think.  Because you're still a lab rat in a cell and I'm free in the world."  Lyle slammed the door shut._**

**_"You're not free, Lyle!  If you were, you wouldn't be working here!" She called out to him._**

**_Samarah flung herself on her bed.  His words had cut into her more than he would ever know.  She had loved him.  She had stayed at the Centre for him.  But now she had no reason to stay there.  Her next mission would be her last._**

"Samarah escaped two days later.  She was on a mission at a convent and she just disappeared without a trace.  Her tracker was removed and left in a trashcan.  The Centre could never find her." Broots added as the screen froze on Samarah's form crying on her bed.

"So that's what drove Samarah away."

"Apparently.  And Lyle was willing to help her escape before."

Miss Parker glanced at Broots, her eyes full of curiosity at this side of her brother.  He seemed to have had a whole life that they had been completely unaware of. 

"But she wouldn't leave until she found out about Project WYS."

"Maybe she didn't know he was working on projects of The Centre.  She probably didn't know what Lyle's job was and she must have found out." Broots added.

"I'm wondering if Lyle knew how she escaped.  Do you think he just let her go?"  
"Mr. Lyle?  I don't know.  He seems to be nice to Samarah most of the time.  Except for during this fight.  Maybe he did let her go."  
"That doesn't sound like my brother, though, does it?"

"No.  Not really."

"She mentioned a name.  Cade.  He's Project WYS.  What do we know about Cade?"

"We're learning more.  We'll see what we can turn up."

The door opened, Sydney standing in the door jam.

"Samarah's been kidnapped by Cade.  Lyle is insisting we try to find them, though whom he wants to find is up for debate.  I'm going to get Angelo."  
"We'll come with you, Freud."

"I thought you might want to be there."

"I'll got get Angelo.  Broots, you fill Sydney in on what we've found."

Broots nodded and started talking immediately to Sydney.  Miss Parker strode out of her office to find Angelo.

****


	5. Insanity

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Five_**

**_Insanity_**

****

            Samarah started to stir slowly as she became dimly aware of the sharp pain in her head.  She hadn't felt pain like that in a very long time.  She couldn't bear to open her eyes for fear of intruding lights but she did the moment she realized she was gagged.  Luckily the room was pitch black, so it didn't upset her headache anymore.  Unfortunately, her hands and feet were bound and it was impossible for her to move from the uncomfortable position she'd been left in.  Fear rippled through her body.  Had The Centre finally found her?  Had they caught up to her and Jarod?  Was she locked up tight in a cell that she would never be released from?  She had no idea.  She couldn't remember what had happened.  One minute she had been talking to Jarod and the next she'd woken up here, disoriented and out of commission.  She tried to focus, to will away the pain she was in, so she could recall the details of her capture.  She could see herself talking to Jarod.  They had been talking about Lyle and something else.  Lyle and Project WYS.  Cade!  That's who it was!  Cade had come after her for some reason.  She'd never done anything to hurt Cade.  She had never really talked to him.  Of course, when she had, they hadn't gotten along, but nothing had happened that merited kidnapping.  Why would he take her?  Questions swirled around in her brain that she had no answer for.  She felt so helpless being unable to answer her questions.  She had always known the answers.  It was her way.  She hated feeling this disoriented as well.  She couldn't even figure out how to get out of her bindings.  She felt her frustration mount and she let out a whimper.  The light flicked on, forming frightening shadows on the wall.  She glanced up, her blue eyes questioning, yet defiant.  Cade smiled at her sardonically, his facial expression showing he'd passed the mark of sanity a while back.

"Samarah.  Glad you could join me."  
"Mmm gllllp I cwod dwoin ew o."

Cade chuckled lightly and leaned forward, ripping the tape from her mouth.  Samarah winced and wished desperately she could put her hands over her mouth to smooth out the stinging on her skin.

"As much fun as deciphering that was, I would love to hear your acerbic wit without the taped version." Cade tossed the tape onto the floor to punctuate the point.

"I said I was glad I could join you too.  Of course, I would have liked it better if you'd invited me.  If you wanted to have a reunion of the screwed-up Centre subjects, you just had to send me a printed invitation or call me up on the phone.  You obviously knew where I was."

"Well, we were never really that close, Samarah, and I was afraid you wouldn't come.  I didn't want you to miss all the fun."  
"Like what?"

"Like when I catch Lyle and torture him slowly.  That will be fun, you know.  He liked to have it done to me."  
Samarah shook her head in disbelief.  She knew Lyle was involved in Project WYS.  He was the head of the project, but he wouldn't have Cade tortured.  Lyle wasn't heartless.  She'd seen his heart too many times to believe that. 

"You know, I don't think I'll like torturing you, though.  I mean, sure it was annoying that you got to go out all the time, but most of the time, you weren't any better than I was. Even if Lyle always thought you were better than me.  Must have been the fact that you had him wrapped around your finger.  It's crazy how he can be so kind to one inmate and so cruel to the next, isn't it?  It's like multiple personalities or bipolar disease.  Or maybe it was because I wasn't the one kissing him.  Who knows?"

Samarah tried to sit herself up, but couldn't get into an upright position.  It was hard not being able to use her hands or her feet.  She'd have to get rid of her bindings soon.  She'd have to wait until Cade left, which eventually he would, but she would be stuck in that position until he did. 

"Why are you going to torture me?"

"To get to Lyle, of course.  I was thinking about doing one of those video phone calls and getting started on you.  Make him try to find me a little bit faster.  I get tired of waiting sometimes."  
"Why would Lyle care if you tortured me?  Since you seem to know so much about our relationship, you must know that Lyle and I broke up shortly before I left The Centre.  He obviously didn't care about me, then, so why would he care about me now?"

Cade knelt down in front of her, patting her hair carefully.  He seemed to be suddenly fascinated by her. 

"Samarah, for being so smart, you really are naïve.  Lyle did care about you.  I'd go so far as to say he loved you, if it's possible for a man like that to love.  And he's never stopped 'caring' about you.  In fact, he still moons over you."

Samarah tried not to seem pleased at Cade's observation.  Cade may have crossed over the sanity line, but he was still observant.  They all were.  It was ingrained in their DNA to watch everything around them.  So if he thought Lyle still loved her, maybe he was right.  And as much as she hated to admit it, she wanted it to be true.

"Oh, you're pleased.  How adorable.  Did you know that for days after you left, Lyle had me tortured and forced me to run simulations without sleep?  He was so angry with you and he loved to take it out on me.  Hmmm…maybe I will like torturing you."

Samarah's eyes widened just a bit, enough to give Cade satisfaction that he was scaring her.  "Precious Little Samarah is scared.  How sad."  Cade smiled again in a way that sent shivers down Samarah's spine.  "Well, I'll let you think about what I said.  I've got to go get some tools.  Then we'll call Lyle.  You haven't really talked to him in a while, have you?  It'll be fun."

Cade gave Samarah a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.  The minute he left, Samarah started struggling.  She had to get out of there.  Fast.

            Lyle turned to the door when Miss Parker brought Angelo in.  Angelo seemed worried about something, which only proved to worry Lyle more.  Angelo always knew what was going on, even if everyone thought he was mush for brains.  Angelo had the sense when something bad was happening and his extra fidgeting actually terrified Lyle, a man who was not used to being scared.  Sydney and Broots entered shortly after Angelo and Lyle felt like he was being examined.  All three of them were staring at him as if he were in a new light in their eyes.  He didn't like it one bit.  He felt like he was being analyzed for his impatience at finding Samarah.  He had to keep his emotions in check.  If they caught on about his relationship with Samarah, the one that almost proved how much he had loved her by not coming forward on how she had escaped, that would be the end for him.  He couldn't let that happen.  They had to remain afraid of him.  Or disgusted with him.

"Angelo, come here."

Lyle commanded it loudly and firmly, leaving no room for argument.  Angelo approached him wearily, as if he were afraid to get close to the maniacal Mr. Lyle.  Lyle pulled out the only thing he had of Samarah's, a note she had written when she was away on an assignment.  She had managed to sneak it back in, even when she'd been reintroduced after the assignment.  He imagined her bubbly handwriting that had told him how much she loved him.  He remembered the day she had given it to him.  It had been six months before she had left.

**_Samarah waited impatiently.  She'd been away for quite awhile on this last assignment.  She had been assigned to a convent where she was studying to become a nun.  She had really been there to administer this tracking device on the Mother Superior.  It had been a long assignment, for she never could get the chance to implant the device.  She had to have it on the woman's skin, not the clothing.  She had to have it on her at all times.  So that had proved to take more time than expected.  She had liked convent life.  In a way, it wasn't much different from what she was used to, except she had more freedom.  She had also enjoyed the study of theology.  She liked thinking there was someone watching her from above, protecting her.  She smiled to herself as she fingered the note she had in the waistband of her pants.  She had managed to hide it from the guards and pay off one of the sweepers to let her keep it.  She was excited.  She was going to give it to Lyle and then he would know how much he meant to her.  She had wanted to tell him.  _**

****

**_            Lyle came in quietly.  It was pretty late and soon the sweepers would be changing shifts.  When the new sweeper came to take charge of Samarah's cell, he could get into trouble.  The one watching her now never said anything about his visits, but the other reported directly to Mr. Raines.  He would know he wasn't part of Samarah's project and would go straight to Mr. Raines with the information of Lyle's visit.  But he had to see her tonight.  He had missed her.  She'd been gone for a month and he missed seeing her.  So he would see her. _**

**_"Lyle!"  She hurried to him and gave him a long, welcoming kiss._**

**_"One thing I have to say for nuns.  I admire them for giving this kind of thing up."_**

**_"But you didn't get any ideas while you were away, did you?"_**

**_"Never."_**

**_He smiled at her, a boyish smile that won her heart over every time he sent one to her._**

**_"I missed you, Samarah."_**

**_"Me, too."_**

**_"We don't have long.  The sweepers will be changing shifts.  I just wanted to make sure you were all right."  
"Yeah.  This last mission wasn't any big danger or anything.  Just visiting with a few nuns."_**

**_He kissed her again, pulling her close to him.  He held her for a few moments before pulling away._**

**_"I have to leave now.  I can't get caught by this guy.  Willie can be a pain."_**

**_"All right."  
She slipped something into his pocket and gave him a huge grin.  He squeezed her hand before leaving the cell.  _**

****

**_            As soon as he was outside The Centre's confinement, he pulled out what she had put in his pocket.  It was a piece of paper.  He opened it up and began to read._**

****

**_Lyle-_**

****

**_        I'm at the convent now, writing you a clandestine love note.  Isn't this insane?  I have some time off and I'm missing you terribly.  I already hardly get to see you at The Centre, but at least I see you some.  You know, I can hardly get you off my mind.  I sit with the sisters as they talk quietly about important things like fund-raisers for the neighborhood kids, and all I can focus on is you and how much you've done for me.  I know this sounds so sappy and you may even laugh at me for what I'm writing.   I hope not, but you never know.  You've made life worth something.  I've spent my whole life locked up in a small room with nothing to look at, nothing to dream about, nothing to think about except for my next assignment.  I used to count the days to when I got to go on assignment and now I count the days that I return to The Centre.  I remember the day you came into that room and you completely changed my entire way of living.  Now everything seems to make sense to me.  I suddenly have a reason to come back to The Centre.  I have a reason to smile and laugh.  I have something to think about during my isolation.  And that means more than I can ever express.  So I want you to know that you mean the world to me and I'll always love you.  Never doubt that._**

****

**_Samarah_**

****

**_Lyle stared at the note as emotion ran through his body.  He loved Samarah so much.  And apparently he meant as much to her as she did to him._**

****

The trio watched as Lyle got a faraway look in his eyes as he held that piece of paper in his hands.  He seemed to fall into another time and place and Angelo seemed to know the connection.  He cut into Lyle's daydreaming time with a quiet, "Friend Girl loved.  Son loves Friend Girl.  Friend Girl loves Son."

Lyle lowered his eyes from any intruding gaze and roughly made sure Angelo had the note in his hands.

"This is all I have of Samarah's.  Be careful with it, MonkeyBrains."

"Careful."

He clutched the paper in his hand and began to fall.  "Oww…owww.  It hurts."

Lyle knelt down next to him.

"What hurts?"

"So much pain.  Inside.  Outside.  Inside.  Outside.  Confused.  Confused.  Inside.  Outside.  Inside. Outside.  Friend Girl scared.  Hurt."

Sydney came forward and took over for Lyle. He seemed to reach Angelo better than Lyle, but then again, anyone could reach Angelo better than Lyle.  
"Samarah is in pain?"  
"Inside.  Outside."

"She's hurt on the inside and outside."

Angelo nodded enthusiastically.  He jumped to his feet and glanced around the room.

"Out.  Must get out!  Cade.  Crazy Cade, Crazy Cade, Crazy Cade."

Angelo seemed to almost be singing his own little song once he began the Crazy Cade chant.  Sydney reached out to calm him, but to no avail.

"Must get out.  Crazy Cade, Crazy Cade, Crazy Cade."

Broots and Miss Parker walked closer to him, but he jerked away.

"NO!  Alone.  Scared.  Friend Girl alone."

"She's alone now, Angelo?  Can she escape?"

Angelo dropped the note, his eyes wide and worried.  He shook his head solemnly before sitting back down onto the floor.  He stared into space and Sydney knew there would be no reaching Angelo again for a while.

"That's all he's got, Lyle."

"No.  That's not enough, Sydney."  
"We know more than we did before."  
"What?  That she's with Cade, who's not really right in the head?  Or that she's alone and hurt?  Or that she's scared?  Not exactly a news bulletin, Sydney."

Miss Parker lowered herself down to Angelo, almost ready to soothe him.  She picked up the fallen note and glanced over it with Broots reading over her shoulder.  She was surprised by the emotions expressed for her brother, but then again, it was almost as if Samarah knew a different Lyle than the rest of them did.  She handed it to Lyle almost gently, a little bit of sympathy for Lyle inside.  A very little bit.  They connected gazes and for a moment, vulnerability shined in Lyle's eyes.  Then he jerked it away and he tucked it in his pocket.

"It's not enough, Sydney.  Make MonkeyBrains give us more."

"It's not something you can force, Lyle."  
"Wanna bet?"

Lyle approached Angelo with a menacing facial expression.  Miss Parker was ready to protect Angelo, but the computer spoke from the table.

"You have a video phone call."  The electronic voice said.  Lyle turned to the computer solemnly, almost dreading what he would see.  He had to prepare himself. 


	6. Serrated

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Six_**

**_Serrated_**

****

            Lyle pressed the button to answer the videophone call, unsure of why he was so apprehensive.  Jarod was supposed to call back after he did his whole pretender thing, so it was probably just Jarod.  Still, Lyle's heart was pounding when he answered the phone.  Something inside of him, maybe that inner sense thing that Miss Parker had 'inherited', was warning him of the phone call.  He didn't want to see what he was going to.  The screen focused and Lyle saw Samarah looking pitiful and pained. 

"Hello, Mr. Lyle.  I bet you're glad to see Samarah alive and all."

"I suppose I am, Cade.  But I'm sort of disappointed to see you the same."

"Ouch.  That hurts.  Of course it doesn't hurt as much as what I'm about to do to Samarah here.  I bet you're wishing you had killed me when you had the chance.  You came close a couple of times.  Just a few more minutes with me and I would have been dead."  
"What are you talking about?"

"So many of those experiments you performed on me almost killed me.  Samarah knows all about those experiments."

Samarah was struggling from where she lay and Lyle could see she was trying to sit up.

"Yes, Cade.  I know exactly what you're talking about, which is why I don't understand why you want to hurt me.  I am you.  Except I'm a girl."  
"And you escaped.  Besides, Lyle gave you special treatment since you were putting out for him.  Men are like that, aren't they?"

Cade's eyes were glittering dangerously.  Lyle watched as Cade lifted up a sharp edged knife.   The silver winked at Lyle from the small light that the camera shone on it.    
"You remember this knife, don't you, Lyle?  It was one of your favorites.  Do you remember what you used to do to me with it?"

Lyle's heart dropped into his stomach.  He felt nauseous and fearful all at once.  He did remember it.  He remembered how he had used it.  He remembered the experiment.

"You were testing pain thresholds.  I'm surprised I have to jog your memory.  You seemed like you enjoyed this experiment a lot.  You'd keep me awake for days and then you'd cut me.  Very planned places where you cut me.  Then you'd let me start to heal and you'd do it all over again.  You wanted to see how much torture I could withhold before I would start agreeing to anything.  You wanted to know if I would betray the Centre if I was caught on one of my missions-"

"I remember, Cade.  I recognize the knife."  
"It was your favorite.  It has the serrated edges."

"Did you steal it on your way out of The Centre?"

"Something like that."

Lyle watched in horror as Cade walked slowly to Samarah and pulled her up by her hair.  Samarah bit hard on her lip to avoid screaming out.  She wasn't going to give Cade the pleasure of hearing her in pain.  She wouldn't let him know how much she was hurting.  That would just give Cade more pleasure.  She tried to avoid looking straight into the camera.  If Lyle saw her eyes, he would know how scared she was.  That would be enough to break him, if he did still love her, like Cade claimed.  But she did glance into it once, whether it was subconscious or not, she wasn't sure.  Her eyes locked with Lyle's and then she knew Cade was telling the truth.  Even after all that Lyle had done, he did love her.  She saw his jaw tighten, a sure sign that Lyle was ready to crawl through the computer and strangle Cade.

"Let's find out what Samarah's pain threshold is.  I even let her sleep while she was here, so it should be higher."

Cade focused on the knife and shot it over towards Samarah.  He flicked his eyes and sliced the knife across her stomach.  A thin red line seeped over her pale skin.  Lyle watched the blood start to spill out and he wished he knew where Cade was.  He had killed people before, but he knew he hadn't enjoyed it as much as he would enjoy killing this guy.  He didn't care what he'd done to Cade.  He was going to make sure Cade's death was slow and painful.  And he was going to love every minute of it.  Cade sliced another line on her stomach and then another and another, making a square.  Then he dragged the knife down the square, making an X. 

"That'll make a cool scar when it heals, Samarah.  Mine were never interesting.  Just random cuts."

Samarah didn't respond.  She simply stared at him with mixed horror and bravery in her eyes.  Cade held out his hand and the knife flew to him.  He dropped it on the table.

"I hope you find me soon, Lyle.  I'd hate to have to call you every hour and make a new design on her.  She'll run out of room on her skin and then what would there be left for me to do?  Slit her throat?  Stab her in the heart?  I guess we'll find out."

Before Lyle could say anything else, Cade disconnected the phone call.

            Jarod sat in the middle of his hotel, trying his best to focus on Cade.  He wondered if his pretending block had come because he was emotionally involved.  Usually, finding people didn't have to do with anyone he knew or pretending to be someone he knew.  He sighed and tried his best to recreate what had happened.  He and Samarah had been talking about Lyle and Cade by the computer.  The door had opened suddenly and before Jarod had known what was happening, he had been on the floor. What had Cade done?  He had knocked him over the head.  Samarah hadn't really had the chance to react when Cade had grabbed her.  What had he done to make Samarah not fight him?  He had used chloroform.  Jarod could feel Samarah in his arms, slumped and heavy.  He had dragged her out the door and into a car before driving back to his hotel room.  He was in this area.  In the Delaware area, near Blue Cove.  If he were Cade, he would go to a small, unobtrusive hotel, one that no one really noticed.  He would have to be able to get to his room without going through a lobby.  People would notice a man carrying an unconscious woman through the hotel.  So it must have been like a Holiday Inn or something.  Jarod pulled out his map of Delaware.  Cade wouldn't stay in Blue Cove.  That would be too easy for Lyle to find him, to trace him.  He wanted Lyle to squirm, wondering where Samarah was.  But Cade wouldn't have gone to far from Blue Cove.  Ashworth, maybe?  Or Collington.  Collington.  That's where Cade would have gone.  It was about 30 miles away from Blue Cove; close enough to taunt Lyle, far enough away to be safe for a while.  Jarod smiled triumphantly and hurried to the door, ignoring the throbbing pain that remained in his head.

            Lyle had never felt so angry and helpless all at once.  Not even when he had been Bobby Bowman.  Watching Cade cut Samarah had been too much.  He had seen the pleasure on Cade's face and it made Lyle scared.  Cade would kill Samarah just for fun.  She was caught in the middle of him and his subject once again.  Didn't Cade know that Samarah had been disgusted by what he'd been doing?  Cade seemed to know everything else, so he had to know that Samarah had run away after finding out what he had been doing to Cade.  Why was he taking it all out on her?  She'd been through the same thing Cade had.  Lyle took a deep breath to calm himself, but all that seemed to do was put fuel on the fire inside of him.  He slammed his fist on the glass desk hard enough to shatter the area he'd hit.  He looked up, ignoring his bloody hand, to see Miss Parker watching him sympathetically.  That was ironic, Parker looking at him sympathetically. 

"Don't do that."

"Do what, Lyle?"

"Sympathize.  It's weird.  You hate me.  It's the natural order of things."  
"Samarah was just tortured.  That deserves some sympathy.  Besides, it wasn't for you, it was for Samarah."  
"Whatever."  Lyle walked to Angelo and sat down in front of him.  Angelo stared at him as if not seeing him at all.  Lyle shook him roughly and he watched Angelo's head lull back and forth.  There would be no reaching the empath.  Angelo didn't want to be reached.  Lyle felt Sydney's hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away.  He stood up and looked at Parker. 

"I wanted her to escape so long ago.  I was the one who helped her come up with the plan.  But did you know she wouldn't leave me behind?  She said she couldn't leave The Centre if I wasn't there with her.  So she refused to go, even though I'd come up with this whole idea of how it could be done."

Miss Parker folded her arms, shifting her weight to one side.  She hadn't expected Lyle to start opening up to her or Sydney or Broots.  Lyle wasn't that type.  None of them were, except maybe Broots.  She asked questions anyway.  She had been wondering about it.

"You knew where she was this whole time?"  
"I didn't know her exact location, but I knew how she got away.  It was my plan. She just didn't use it until a year after I had told her about it.  She left because of Cade.  She found out I was working for The Centre, working on the projects like her.  It disgusted her.  I disgusted her.  She left about a month after she found out.  I didn't go after her and I didn't turn her in.  It was better that way.  She never deserved to be locked up the way she was."

"And Cade did?  Jarod?  Kyle?  Angelo does?"

"It's not up to me.  Not all of them.  Jarod and Kyle are gone anyway."  
"Kyle's dead after you killed him."  
"Yes.  And Cade escaped.  So Angelo's the only one smart enough to stick around here.  Or dumb enough."

Angelo's head cocked to the side at the mention of his name.  Lyle wondered if he was responding again, if he had come back into the regular world instead of that world he seemed to fall into when he was empathing someone.  Still, Angelo made no other movements, so Lyle decided Angelo wasn't coming out of it.

"I don't think Angelo's so dumb, Lyle."  
"Maybe he isn't.  Maybe he just acts like he is."

"Maybe."  Miss Parker was agreeing with him?  It worried the both of them.  They had never been one to bond like a brother and sister would.  They took sibling rivalry to a whole new level, a nearly deadly one.  And that would never change, even if they did bond that night.

"How did Samarah escape, Lyle?"

He shook his head.  He wouldn't tell.  He couldn't.  It could put Samarah in more danger than she already was.  They needed to concentrate on finding Cade, not on Samarah's disappearance from The Centre.  If the sweepers found Cade first, Samarah would be locked up again and punished for running off.  The Centre almost expected her to be indebted to them.  Samarah had been an orphan and they had saved her.  Yeah, right.

"It doesn't matter now, Sis.  It was a long time ago that she escaped and-"

A sudden movement cut him off.  Angelo was on his feet and running towards the air vent.  Was he trying to escape now?

"Jarod!  Jarod!  Jarod!"

Miss Parker perked up and started to follow Angelo.  He was in the air vent now.  She glanced back at Lyle, Sydney and Broots.  She sighed loudly.

"If any of you perverts look up my skirt, I will shoot you."

She crawled in after Angelo and soon, Lyle and the others were following Angelo through a maze of aluminum.

            Samarah seemed dazed now.  The blood had crusted over her cuts and all she could do was fear Cade's return.  She was too weak to leave now.  Cade had managed to cut her in all the right places to instigate some severe blood loss.  She realized then that Cade didn't care if she survived or not.  Cade wasn't just using her to bring Lyle here.  Cade wanted to kill her.  And she had no way to escape.  Her memory was foggy, her entire body almost felt like she was floating.  She could almost recollect a time when escape had been discussed.  Escape from here?  No, from The Centre.  Lyle's beaming face as he told her his plan to get her out of The Centre.  How foolish she had been to wait to leave.  She had thought that staying behind with Lyle would be worth it.  It hadn't been worth it.  At least she'd finally left.  And Lyle hadn't come after her.

****

**_The door shut with a resounding click in the near silent hallway.  Samarah had always wondered if other people stayed in the rooms down the hall, but she'd never known.  She hadn't picked up on any other people around her room except for the sweepers.  She smiled at Lyle, she had no doubt it was him.  He tended to visit at the same time every other night.  _**

**_"Lyle!"_**

**_"I've come up with it, baby girl.  I know how to get you out of here without implicating me and it's a way you'll be gone and they'll never find you."_**

**_"What?'  
She was on her feet now and in Lyle's arms.  He seemed incredibly proud of his plan, but she didn't know how he thought she would leave without him.  She had just found him._**

**_"You're next mission is to be a teacher, right?'  
"Yeah."_**

**_"Well, when you show up, you can go to the police.  Tell them you've been followed for a while and they'll start protecting you.  With the police on you all the time, the sweepers won't approach immediately.  Then, you can disappear from your apartment.  You'll be a missing person and you can start over with a brand new identity."  
"Until the sweepers catch up with me."  
"I can distract them."  
"How?"  
"I can give them a location on Jarod."_**

**_"Jarod?  You know where he is?'  
"No, but I can't pretend like I do.  I can even set it up like Jarod does, with a red notebook and everything.  Jarod is number one priority; you'd be placed down to number two.  They'll try to pick up your trail, but it'll be cold.  They won't be able to find you.  And they won't suspect me.  Even if they did, I can stave them off.  It won't matter, Samarah, and you won't have to be locked in here.   You'll be free."  
"I'll be without you."  
"Doesn't matter. You won't be isolated anymore.  You can have a real life, Samarah.  That's what is important."  
"Lyle, I love you."  His smile was bitter and more mature than the first time she'd met him.  He used to look almost impish when he grinned, but now, not nearly so.  
"I love you, too.  Which is why you have to leave.  We don't matter.  We're not meant to be together.  We have to put you first.  This isn't a relationship, me sneaking in to see you.  It just isn't real enough. You have this chance, Samarah, to get out of here.  You have to take it."_**

**_Samarah shook her head and pulled away from him.  
"I won't leave you.  I don't care what you say. I know this is real. You know it is, too.  I don't know what I'd do out there, Lyle.  I've been in here my whole life.  I've been alone my whole life and I'm tired of it.  I haven't been alone since you've been here and I refuse to let that go.  I'd rather stay here than leave without you."_**

**_"Samarah, don't be stubborn."_**

**_"I've always been stubborn."  She said, her eyes glittering.  She looked away from him when she saw the seriousness on his face.  
"Will stop it, will you?"_**

**_"I don't think it's possible."  Lyle laughed lightly, but stopped short.  He squeezed her hands, then forced her to look at him.  His face was somber, no trace of the man she'd always known.  Little did she know, that was the look Lyle would adopt when she did leave._**

**_"I won't let you stay here your whole life, Samarah.  You're worth so much more than this."  
"Well, maybe one day I'll leave.  Be ready to help me, with your plan, but I don't want to leave yet."_**

**_"You're crazy, you know that?  You're giving too much up."  
"You've given stuff up for me, Lyle.  And that matters to me."  
Lyle pressed his lips to hers in a severe, bruising kiss._**

****

            She had left, using his plan.  After she'd learned about Project WYS and talked to Lyle about it, as soon as her next mission came around, she'd run.  Lyle hadn't come after her.  Lyle hadn't told them how she had escaped.  Luckily, when she had left, the chase for Jarod was more extreme than it had been before, so the sweepers were already distracted by Jarod.  They had looked for her, they had always looked for her, but they had never been close.  She cut off all contact once she'd settled down.  She'd accepted that she would be alone for the rest of her life and that she would always love the monster that experimented on projects, no matter what he did.  She'd been free for a few years, but Lyle had never been far from her thoughts.  And now this.  Her eyes closed as she remembered Lyle's kiss, tender and warm, or rough and passionate.  She faded back into the unconsciousness she had fallen into earlier. **__**


	7. Search

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Seven_**

**_Search_**

Lyle was fairly shocked when he saw a miniature set up of a computer room that the air ducts had led to. Angelo seemed right at home in the area and Lyle suddenly realized that the set up was his. Maybe Angelo's brains weren't all mush. The man had a hideout without security cameras and as far as Lyle knew, no one else in The Centre was aware of it. Except for Jarod, obviously. Jarod was kneeling next to Angelo's laptop, his hands poised over the keyboard. Angelo was seated next to him, bouncing excitedly.

"Jarod! Jarod! Jarod come!"

Jarod looked up at Angelo just as Lyle began to speak.

"I hope you weren't going to steal off into the night, Jarod, after leaving Angelo a clandestine note?"

"Actually, I wanted to leave Angelo a little note. Then, I was going to find you, Lyle. I wouldn't dream of leaving the Centre without dropping by."

Lyle knew they could do this threatening banter thing for hours, but he also knew they didn't have the time. Samarah was hurt somewhere with no one but Cade with her. Cade hardly counted as a person, anyway. After all, he was the one torturing her. Lyle's chest tightened at the memory of Cade's actions and Samarah's eyes as she looked into the camera. He rarely saw Samarah as helpless. She was incredibly talented and about one hundred times smarter than he was, smarter in everything except for the way psychopaths worked. He had personal experience with that. Samarah might be able to escape from Cade, but he would find her. He would terrorize her until she was dead, or he was. Lyle was going to put a stop to this. Cade needed to be reminded of who was in charge and then he was going to be exterminated. Project WYS would be officially terminated and Lyle wouldn't have to worry about Samarah being in danger anymore. Other than the Centre wanting to capture her, of course. Lyle was confident he could put a stop to any capture unit for Samarah. Lyle snapped himself out of his thoughts of protecting Samarah and turned his attention back to Jarod.

"You and I don't get along. I like it that way. As soon as we help Samarah, I have every intention of capturing you and bringing you back to the Centre where you belong. You're getting a get out of jail free card this time, because as much as I hate to admit it, Samarah needs you."

"Get out of jail free card?" Jarod repeated it questioningly.

Lyle groaned at Jarod's question. Of course he had to avoid any pop culture references for Jarod or else he'd have to explain them. Lyle realized that Miss Parker and her sidekicks had made their way into the small room and seemed just as surprised by it. Angelo kept his place hidden well. He must care for Samarah a lot to allow everyone to see his haven. Mr. Lyle's nonexistent respect for the empath suddenly went up a notch. Angelo may not be a puppet of the Centre like everyone had thought. Lyle chose to ignore their entrance and return his attention on Jarod again.

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes." Jarod said it calmly, but offered no elaboration. Lyle's face flickered with annoyance. It flashed away quickly because he knew Jarod would play on that. Jarod may care for the feelings of others, but to him, Lyle wasn't a person.

"Would you like to tell me where she is?"

"Yes, Mr. Lyle, I plan to. She's actually not far from Blue Cove. She's in Ashington. Cade loves to taunt you. I can't say that I blame him. I love to taunt you, as well, but Samarah is the one getting hurt because of that and she doesn't deserve it."

"So we actually agree on something. Do you know where in Ashington she is?"

"It's a hotel or motel. There aren't a lot in Ashington. It's a small town. There will be direct access to the room because people would notice him carrying an unconscious body across the lobby."

"So a cheap motel?"

"It's not like Cade has a lot of money. He hasn't been taking Centre funds, so he pretty much has no money. He may be stealing money, but Cade's only a pickpocket. He won't get a ton of money from that."

"The motel would also be one of those with a don't ask, don't tell policy. Someone would see or hear Samarah and no one has been inclined to report it."

"You're getting the idea. Hello, Miss Parker."

"Jarod." Miss Parker and Sydney both moved closer to Jarod. Miss Parker and Jarod stared at each other for the longest time, it seemed. Something was different between the two that was obvious to everyone, even if they weren't privy to the reason for the change.

"This is a twist in the story, isn't it, Miss Parker?"

She watched him with piercing blue eyes. She didn't even know if she could answer that question. Memories of Carthis flooded her. That almost kiss in Ocee's home near the raging fireplace. She could practically feel Jarod's lips on hers and she knew it was ridiculous. She was a Parker. She didn't get dreamy or dramatic. She actually cursed herself for feeling the way she was. Jarod was the bane of her existence. The minute Jarod was back in custody; she could leave The Centre and move on with her life. In theory. She could take Jarod into custody right that minute and be done with it all. If the ghoul would ever let her go. That just might be the show of good faith Mr. Raines had been talking about. Bringing Jarod back would even beat Mr. Lyle's thumb. But if she did return Jarod, she would be sentencing Jarod to a miserable life, Lyle to death (likely) and she would probably be forced to stay at the Centre for another reason. Lyle would never give a second thought to leaving her in Mr. Raines' clutches, but she did. And Jarod had always managed to protect her, even when he drove her crazy with his games. Even when Jarod was the cause of her working at the Centre again. Miss Parker broke her gaze from Jarod, trying to focus back at the situation at hand. The girl pretender needed their help from some psychopathic telekinetic.  
"It's not the same story, Jarod. Listen, we need to split up in groups to go in and get Samarah. I think Jarod and I could be on a team, Sydney and Lyle on another and Broots could be our communication link. What do you think?"

Jarod nodded and glanced past Miss Parker. His eyes widened visibly and he seemed irritated.

"Where is Mr. Lyle?"

Miss Parker whirled around as Sydney and Broots glanced about the room. Lyle was nowhere to be seen.

"He's gone after her. Alone."

"Which is exactly what Cade wanted." Jarod said it in a haunted, threatening tone that left no room for wonder. They all knew why Cade wanted Lyle to come after her alone. And the real debate was, did they let Cade do what he wanted?

Lyle sighed as he entered the last sleazy motel he could find in Ashington. He had been to two others and neither concierge, and he used that term lightly, was very cooperative. He'd shown a picture of both Cade and Samarah and no one had seen them. He strode through the lobby, the mission clear on his face. He pulled out two Centre file shots, then slid them to the man with a twenty on top.

"Have you seen either of these people?"

"Your wife run away from you or somethin'?"

"Not exactly. Have either of them checked into this motel?"

"I can't quite remember, you know? I don't know. A lotta people look like this guy."

Lyle slid another twenty to him. He'd give this guy as much money as he wanted to find Samarah. It was the Centre's cash. Cade was the Centre's problems, anyway. They deserved to fund this little excursion. The guy watched him skeptically. Lyle slid three more twenties to him. The guy smiled at him, satisfied. Lyle resisted the urge to remove his gun and shoot him in the head. This guy might be able to help him, even if his attitude did deserve a long torture session.

"Guy that looked kinda like that checked in a few days. Haven't seen much of him. He's a loner. I've never seen him with anyone else, though. I don't know if your girlie has been with him."

"What room number was he in?"

The man raised his eyebrow as an indication of his intention.

"Now, Sir, we're a respectable facility. We do have privacy laws."

Lyle didn't have the patience or the desire to keep his temper. He whipped his gun out and pulled the guy to him, the gun cocked and ready to fire into the man's head. The man's eyes widened understandably and he started to fidget in Lyle's grip. Lyle held onto it and stared into the man's scared eyes.

"I tried to do this the nice way. Now is that number coming to your head? Because you're kind of on my nerves, anyway. I don't mind killing you. In fact, I'd love a reason to kill you."

The man was sweating now and it disgusted Lyle. This guy obviously didn't know how to withstand any kind of stress. Lyle didn't even look that frightening and this guy was scared. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. This guy was keeping him from Samarah.

"Uhhh…57. Room 57. Let me go, man. I could call the cops."

Lyle's eyes flashed dangerously. "You go ahead and do that. We'll see if you finish dialing."

Lyle threw the guy back and then punched him. He was unconscious and Lyle felt relieved. Then he grabbed the spare key from the desk and went in search of Samarah and Cade. He couldn't just burst in. Cade may be expecting him to do that. He had to have a plan. Lyle headed quietly for the room, knowing he'd come up with a plan on the way. He was intelligent enough to come up with one quickly. And he'd have Samarah out of there before anyone knew she was gone.

Jarod and the others had left the Centre together, ironically. Angelo had been left in his secret room, happily typing away on his computer. The others were headed to Ashington, planning on splitting up once they got there. Three motels that fit Jarod's description were in Ashington and there were four of them. Broots agreed to stay with Miss Parker when the decision was being made on where they would be going. The prospect of interrogating a bunch of slimy hotel managers excited none of them, Miss Parker the least. She knew she'd likely be hit on and she intended to let them know whom the stronger person was. She assumed that would end the unwanted attention. Miss Parker strutted into the lobby confidently, but found the desk annoyingly empty. Broots stayed several steps behind her as soon as he recognized the look in her eyes. It was the look that warned anyone who had any sense to stay out of her way. Parker found the small bell and rang it several times, impatiently. She began to tap her foot, hoping some noise would alert the manager of their presence. Still, no one came. She leaned over the desk, not entirely surprised by what she found. A man, probably the manager, lay sprawled across the floor. She noticed a large bruise forming on his jaw.

"This is the motel. Lyle's already visited the front desk."

"How do you know?" Broots asked timidly.

"Sleeping Beauty here."

"Where did Mr. Lyle go?"

"I don't know, Broots." Miss Parker snapped as her patience wore thin,

"The guy isn't exactly wearing a sign that says what room number Cade and company are in, Broots. Maybe you could try hacking into the computer system and find out for me. It doesn't look too complicated. You do occasionally have a use."

A look of offense and hurt flashed on Broots' face, but he hid it quickly as he plowed on to the computer. Miss Parker stood behind him, not alleviating his nervousness. But Broots was much more resilient than anyone gave him credit for, including Miss Parker. He stepped over the unconscious body like it was an everyday sight, which of course for him it was, and began tapping lightly at the computer, making hacking seem like child's play. Despite Miss Parker's bite, she knew she would be nowhere without him. He helped her out more than either admitted.


	8. Savior

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Eight_**

**_Savior_**

Lyle paused briefly outside the room he'd been told Cade was in. He knew he couldn't just burst into the room. Cade could decimate Samarah before he even knew what was happening. Lyle would have to be careful how he handled the present situation. His emotions for Samarah couldn't cloud his judgment. It would get them both killed. Lyle's mind raced as he tried to come up with a well thought, albeit quick, plan. He tightened his grip on the handgun he held and prepared to enter the room, without a set plan. There was really no way to judge what Cade would be able to do. He pushed the door open quietly, with his gun ready to be fired, but as far as Lyle could tell, Cade wasn't in the room. The first thing Lyle noticed was the putrid scent that assaulted his senses. He was overwhelmed by the smell of decaying carpet, drying blood and something Lyle couldn't quite place. He scanned the room cautiously, forcing himself to ignore the stench that tickled at his nose. Lyle saw her, then. His eyes had almost passed right over her listless body. She seemed to be unconscious, not dead, since he could see the unsteady rise and fall of her chest. She lay in a pool of her own blood, her blond hair soaked in the liquid as her head lulled to the side, making her almost face down. Lyle felt a surge of anger flow through him. Cade was going to regret what he had done to Samarah. He deserved a long and painful death, but Lyle would settle on a quick one. Lyle rushed to Samarah, lowering his gun, and shook her gently. He received a low moan in response. Lyle stroked her cheek gently as he spoke softly.

"Samarah, it's me. It's Lyle."

She whimpered helplessly as if she were having a nightmare. Lyle wondered if he were hurting her by just touching her.

"Baby girl, I need you to open your eyes right now. Just for me."

Lyle propped her up in his lap, covering himself with her blood. The wetness that covered him hardly even registered as he tried to soothe her.

"I know you hate me now, but I can live with your hate. You just have to wake up for me, so you can hate me. Wake up before Cade comes back."  
"A little too late, Mr. Lyle."

Cade held a gun pointed steadily at Lyle's head. Lyle cursed himself for being so careless. Lyle hadn't even heard Cade walk to him or cock the gun. Cade had probably been waiting for him, hiding in the room, waiting for the right time to make his move. Lyle had let his guard down when he had seen Samarah and now they would both pay for it.

"This is sorta anti-climatic for me. I mean, I've been waiting to kill you for years, and this is it. I just have to point a gun at your head and fire it? I think I was hoping for some kind of fight or something. Not just trap you and blow your head off. This isn't even close to comparing to the pain you've put me in through the years. You'd be getting off easy if I did that. I don't want that."

Cade hesitated as he seemed to be thinking of ways that he could kill Lyle without making it so easy. A look of irritation passed over his face that Lyle noticed instantly.

"You've even dropped your weapon already. I don't even get to threaten you with death if you don't lower it. This isn't fair."

Cade's words resembled a five-year-old who had been told that he couldn't go out to play. It would be funny-if he weren't talking about his disappointment in the lack of violence in the killing of someone.

"I'd be happy to raise my gun and let you fight me for it, Cade."

Lyle started to raise his gun up, but Cade noticed. His eyes flicked and the gun went flying across the room as several cracks sounded. Lyle glanced down at his fingers that were severely disfigured now. Cade had broken his fingers.

"That's a splendid offer, Lyle, but I'll pass. I wouldn't want to chance losing you."

Cade sighed loudly as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. He seemed to be doing some kind of nervous dance. He seemed incredibly indecisive, a curiosity to Lyle. He had assumed Cade had planned all sorts of scenarios for killing him, and surprisingly this one didn't fit.

"Now, should I kill Samarah first and put her out of her misery? I know it sucks to be in the kind of pain she's in. It sucks to have The Centre chasing after you, too. It would end her whole damned existence if I killed her now."

"Why don't you let Samarah comment on her existence when she's conscious?"

"Because I'm annoyed by her talking! Besides, the added bonus would be your self-loathing at not being able to save her."

Cade smiled sadistically as he brought Lyle's own gun to his hand from its place on the floor. He switched guns and pointed Lyle's gun at Samarah.

"How ironic that she would be killed by your bullet. I'm thinking murder/suicide for the headlines. Man kills woman after torrid love affair, then ends his own life out of guilt and love. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Lyle remained calmed, but he was ready to shield Samarah if need be. This rivalry between him and Cade was just that. Between the two of them. He wouldn't let Samarah get caught in the cross fire any more than she already was. Lyle eyed Cade, looking for any opening to reclaim a gun and kill Cade. He saw it just before Cade pulled the trigger. It was in his eyes. Something flashed in them and Lyle went for it. He tackled Cade to the ground, pushing the gun away from Samarah. Cade struggled with him as he fell backwards, but Lyle remained on top of him. Lyle smashed his fist into Cade's face hard enough to draw blood from his nose. Lyle was using his weak hand, without his right hand being able to form a fist due to the broken fingers. He could feel his throat closing in and he knew it was Cade's doing. Lyle pushed his four-finger hand into Cade's face, trying to stop his concentration. Lyle gasped for air as he pushed harder and harder on the face. Lyle was finally weak enough that he was thrown back by Cade's telekinetic power. He gasped for air, since Cade's concentration had been focused on throwing him back instead of strangling him. Cade rushed him while clutching one gun he had left. He pointed it, but Lyle rolled out of the way before Cade fired at him. Cade had the other gun fly back into his hand, but Lyle had slipped up behind him. Cade turned while he cocked the guns, but Lyle kicked him to the floor.

"Son of a-" Lyle kicked him viciously in the side before stomping on one of Cade's hands. Cade cried out, but brought his other hand up to fire at Lyle again. Lyle dropped to the floor and grabbed a hold of Cade's head.

"Thought you'd get away with hurting Samarah and coming after me. You're not nearly as intelligent as The Centre gave you credit for."

With that, Lyle snapped the man's neck. Cade's head dropped to the floor, strangely unconnected to his body. Lyle took the moment to watch his dead body, a flash of satisfaction running through him. Then, he sprang into action. He had to get out of there before anyone found them. The gunshots may cause some kind of problem with the other guests. The usual don't ask, don't tell policy may be broken. Lyle knelt down and lifted Samarah into his arms, ignoring the pain in his hand. He carried her out of the room and headed for his car just barely before Miss Parker and Broots rounded the corner.

Miss Parker stopped cautiously in front of the open door to the room they assumed Cade was in. The smell of blood wafted into the outside as a breeze blew by. Miss Parker glanced back at Broots. "You should stay out here. In case they run this way."

"Right. In case they come this way."

Broots shifted nervously outside as he scanned the perimeter for anyone watching them. Oddly enough, no one had even popped their heads out at the sound of gunshots. These people must lead lives much like his to not be surprised at gunshots and dead people. He watched Miss Parker walk into the room slowly, her gun drawn. He also heard her gasp.

"You can come in, Broots."

Broots wasn't sure he wanted to go in the room. He did, anyway. The first thing he saw was blood. There was so much blood. On the walls. On the floor. On the furniture. He resisted the urge to show Miss Parker the contents of his earlier lunch.

"I think Lyle found Cade."

Broots wasn't sure what Miss Parker was talking about. He continued to look around the room and he saw it, then. The body. The face was disfigured. The nose was broken. And his neck hung loosely to the side, the neck obviously broken. Cade's blue eyes were wide and glazed, staring up at the ceiling. Blood covered his body, too, most of it dried, but some fresh. Broots had the feeling that most of that blood was Samarah's, but he tried not to dwell on the fact. He forced himself to look away from the horror and back at Miss Parker. Her face was grim, but not completely shocked. Broots realized then that Miss Parker had known what Lyle would do. And she thought this guy deserved everything he got. Maybe he did. Broots didn't want to be the judge of it.

"I wonder what happened."

"I don't know. I don't know if we'll find out, either. Lyle may deny ever being here."

"Or he may tell this story proudly, Miss Parker. Lyle might be pretty proud of his work here."

"It's possible. Speaking of Lyle being gone, we should leave before cops get here. Someone has to have called them. And we don't want to be here when they see this. We better go back to The Centre. Call Sydney. Tell him it's over."  
Broots nodded dutifully, trying his best to ignore the body and blood in the room.

"What about Jarod?"

"He'll figure it out."

"You're not going to try to catch him? We know where he is."

"No, we don't know where he is. We didn't work with Jarod, Broots. Am I right?"

Broots took a moment to process what she was saying. Then, he nodded.

"You're right. It was just the three of us. Looking for another lost pretender."

Miss Parker nodded before turning on her heel and strode out the room. Broots pulled out his cell phone and glanced back at the body one more time. He shuddered subconsciously and followed Miss Parker to the black car.


	9. Conscience

**_Pretense_**

**_Chapter Nine_**

**_Conscience_**

Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots returned to the Centre, fully intending to find Lyle boasting to everyone that would listen about the particularly brutal murder he had committed and regaling he had saved the Centre from a psychotic test subject and how he had brought back a lost pretender. Instead, they found the hallway near deserted. Despite their confusion, they walked on to Lyle's office, curious as to whether he had figured out where it was that Jarod had been. They walked into his office and found it empty. Not just of people, but everything was gone. All the furniture, decorations, any sign of Lyle ever working at the Centre was gone. Unless he was given a bigger office for what he's done. Parker looked up at the other two, who seemed equally shocked at what they were seeing.

"It's like he doesn't exist anymore." Broots said it stunned. They exchanged looks and Sydney nodded before speaking.

"The Centre never takes defection lightly."

"You think Lyle defected? Mr. Lyle, the original diabolical evil man?" Miss Parker had never even imagined Lyle defecting the Centre's precious organization. The Centre had too much to offer him to believe that Lyle would just desert.

"For Samarah? I do believe he would. You've seen him with Samarah, in the DSAs. Lyle seems to be different when he even sees Samarah. He's more sensitive and considerably less evil. Samarah's like a conscience."

Miss Parker sighed as she made a small circle around the room, trying to understand what she was seeing and hearing. She'd never really thought of Lyle as a human before. He'd always been some kind of monster that she despised. It seemed, however, that he was intent on protecting the female pretender, even if it meant endangering his life and standing at the Centre. Miss Parker finally nodded acceptingly.

"You're right, Syd. You're the shrink, right? You know what's in Lyle's psyche."

"I'd never presume to understand Lyle's psyche. I don't think I want to. But I do understand the power of love and the feeling of being needed is never too weak to conquer even the cruelest of men."

"Obviously."

Parker turned on her heel and strutted out of the office, no longer interested in talking about Lyle. She tossed back a half-hearted, "See you tomorrow. Looks like we're the only ones left that are_ looking_ for Jarod."

With that, Parker left the Centre for the night, wishing she could curl up in a ball and hide from the rest of the world for a while.

Miss Parker finally did curl up into a ball to hide away from the rest of the world with a nice glass of vodka, but she knew she would have to return to the Centre the next day. If Jarod had been caught, banners would have been decking the halls with party favors sounding. She had seen no jubilation so she assumed Jarod was still on the run somewhere in Kansas by now. Not that she minded that he was free. How twisted was it that she wanted him to be free when she was supposed to capture him and drag him back to imprisonment. As if on cue, her phone rang. She snapped it up expectantly and heard his somewhat comforting voice on the other end.

"Enjoying your vodka, Miss Parker?"

Miss Parker snorted unbecomingly as she took another sip. She didn't even bother wondering how Jarod knew she was drinking. Knowing him, he had cameras set up all over her house that he'd placed while she was asleep.

"It's not nearly strong enough."  
"Is it ever? Not with what we've seen."

"You're not the one who saw Cade in a bloody mess on the floor."

"I know. I'm sorry you saw it."  
"It's nothing new."

"Why is it our lives never work out?"  
"How ironic is it? You're being quite pessimistic tonight, and I'm being unusually less so."

"You're not being pessimistic?" Jarod asked it slyly.  
"I was thinking that at least Samarah and Lyle got themselves a fairy tale ending, or so I assume."

"They're together."

"How do you always know - never mind. You know, Lyle kind of deserves to be happy, no matter how sociopathic he was. He never got a chance to be happy, not even when he was a little boy."

"Sympathy for your sadistic brother? That's quite odd."

"I suppose it is. I'm not the sympathetic sort. Still, Samarah has had quite a tortured life like the rest of us, as did Lyle. They seem to be each other's only happiness. I believe they deserve each other. But I can't help wonder…" She paused again, almost embarrassed by what she had almost confessed. Fortunately, Jarod had none of the same qualms she did about facing their feelings.

"Wonder why we can't escape from the Centre's clutches to have our own happily ever after? I wonder it, as well, often, Miss Parker."

"You're the genius. Why don't you find the solution to our little problem?" She sounded bitter and angry with him, but it was no shock that she felt that way. The Centre had always controlled their lives and they were never given a moment's peace. Lyle and Samarah seemed to be able to escape, why couldn't they?

Jarod heard the deep hurt in Miss Parker's voice, but all he really processed was that she didn't deny that they wanted the same ending. Parker rarely admitted that she wanted him the way he wanted her. Yet as ecstatic as that made him, a feeling of futility washed over him. He wasn't sure if they would ever break away from the Centre. It wasn't likely. He felt slightly jealous that the sinister Mr. Lyle, one of the men that had made his life a torturous hell, could live a mundane existence with the woman he loved. Samarah deserved the peace, though, so the jealousy he felt faded in and out. Jarod sighed as he loosened his grip on his cell phone.

"I've never claimed to know all the answers, Miss Parker. That was the Centre that claimed it. If I knew the answer to the question that has plagued me for years, I would have fixed our problem long ago. I wish I knew how to change our lives. I wish I knew how I could come to you and be in love with you without having to worry about being caught. I wish I knew how to fix it! I can fix everyone else's problems but I'm completely powerless to fix my own. I'm so frustrated and I don't know how to stop this never-ending process, Miss Parker."

Miss Parker seemed dumbfounded by Jarod's outburst. Neither was this open with each other, not since they were children. Miss Parker was speechless for the moment, no snarky comment or cruel accusation to fling at him. She remained quiet for a few seconds before speaking.

"Someday, Jarod, you'll figure it out. Maybe we'll be old, gray, and drying up from the Centre sucking us dry, but you will find a way."

"Optimism again?"

"The vodka's kicking in."

He chuckled, a warm sound that made Miss Parker smile unusually.

"I think I'll go find some, then."

"I hear it will stimulate your brain, as well."

She could almost see Jarod's smile on the other end of the phone line.  
"You really think I'll be able to solve our problem?"  
"I know you will."

With that vote of confidence, Miss Parker disconnected the line and curled back into her ball with her hands clutching her vodka glass.

Lyle had been watching over Samarah since he had taken her from the motel room, unconscious and bleeding. He hadn't been able to leave her. She'd been unconscious for almost a whole day and Lyle had no idea how to wake her up. He didn't know how to fix her, so he cleaned her wounds, made sure she was warm, and remained by her side. If only his sister could see him now. She would never believe that he could be this tender with someone. Lyle had a hard time believing it, honestly. Samarah awakened feelings that still didn't appear when he was with anyone else. He was almost vulnerable when he was with Samarah. Lyle almost dreaded Samarah's inevitable awakening. The fiery spirit he loved so much would turn on him and Samarah would kick him out. Where would he go? The Centre? They'd kill him. Where would it leave him if Samarah wanted nothing to do with him? How would he take it?

Lyle sighed as his hand reached up to push back Samarah's hair. Her blond hair was no longer sticky with blood, but Lyle could see it in his mind. He could see Cade standing over her with a knife, his eyes crazed, hers terrified. He couldn't shake the images or fear for Samarah. It was like a weight dragging him under the ocean waves as he gulped down salt water to fill his lungs. He wondered if her opening her eyes would save him from the oppressive memories. He lowered his head onto the bed and waited.

She began to move, but she didn't open her eyes. Her face blanched with pain at her slight movement. She tried to stay still; who knew what Cade would do when he saw that she was awake? Her torso stung and itched alternately and she wished desperately it would stop. She felt a hand brush her cheek almost gently, more gentle than Cade had ever touched her with, even when he was taunting her with 'tenderness'. She tried to stop herself from opening her eyes, but she couldn't. Lyle's face focused shakily in Samarah's line of view and Samarah whimpered helplessly.

"I know you don't want me around, but I have to make sure you heal properly."

"Cade-" her voice cracked from the lack of fluids she'd had the last few days.

"He's gone. You don't need to worry about him."  
"Gone?"

"Dead. I killed him."

Suddenly, her blue eyes filled with tears, her face broken and pained. Lyle wanted to touch her, to make her feel better, but he was afraid to. He was afraid that talking to her or touching her would make her more upset than she already was. He lifted his hand and began to reach for her hand, but he stopped himself. His hands hovered over hers, like it was physically impossible for him to put his hand down to feel her skin. Samarah closed her eyes before she tried to speak again.

"He-he hurt me so badly, Lyle. I don't know why. I didn't do anything to him. We're both victims of the Centre. I close my eyes and all I see is him cutting into my skin. I open my eyes and all I see is his face smiling sadistically…."

She broke off again as licked at her cracked lips. Lyle finally did grasp her hand out of desperation. Samarah's eyes flew open and looked down at their intertwined hands.

"He was insane, Samarah. The Centre drove him insane. I drove him insane."

Lyle couldn't look at her when he said that last sentence. He didn't want to see the disappointment that would flash in her eyes when she heard him say that.

"I know you were his project head…"

"Yes, and I performed a number of experiments on him that drove him to go after you. He wanted to hurt me and he didn't care if he hurt you. I'm sorry that this whole thing affected you. You were free from the Centre. You shouldn't have come back."

"I didn't mean too. I just had to know that you were all right."  
Lyle stood up abruptly and began to pace the room. Samarah lay in the bed almost anxious now, because she knew that she was going to have to face her feelings for Lyle soon. She'd never stopped loving him, no matter how evil he was. He'd never been evil with her. He'd always tried to protect her and liberate her. She couldn't hate him, no matter what he did.

"Why? Samarah, you should have kept running and never turned back. It's been years."  
"That doesn't mean I stopped loving you, Lyle. You were my first love and my only love. It was dangerous and probably unhealthy for the both of us, but I love you so much. I hate what you did. I felt that you had betrayed me since you were experimenting on people at the Centre. You always seemed so outraged that it happened to me, I couldn't understand how you could perform experiments on others. I couldn't understand how you could be so sweet to me and so cruel to others."  
"I only got worse, Samarah. You have to know that."

"I do. But it doesn't mean I stopped caring. You would never hurt me. And look, you chose me over the Centre just by saving me. You're not going to be working at the Centre anymore. They won't let you back in. You can stay with me and we can work through whatever it was that went wrong with you so many years ago."

"What if I don't want to work on it? I like the way I am just fine."  
Samarah flinched at his harsh words, but she knew he was lying. He would do anything for her, including trying to fix his problems.

"Are you saying that you don't love me? That you don't want to stay with me?"

Lyle shook his head helplessly.

"No. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I'm dangerous and you'll just end up getting hurt with me hanging around you again."

"I was hurt when we weren't together, Lyle. It's not going to matter either way. I want you with me. I want to help you."  
"I don't know if you can."

"I can try. You helped me a long time ago, helped me free myself from the Centre. Let me do the same. Please, Lyle."

He walked to her bed again and sat on the edge. He studied her for a moment with hard eyes that suddenly turned soft. He leaned down and kissed her carefully, trying not to hurt her by his touch. The kiss lasted only an instant, but it displayed all the emotions Lyle had felt for Samarah since the day she'd run away. Samarah sighed almost happily as she closed her eyes again.

"I'm tired, Lyle. And thirsty."  
"I can get you a drink and then you can sleep. We can work out our lives later."

"You promise you'll stay with me, though?"

"I promise, Samarah. I do love you. I've never loved anyone in my life and I imagine you'll be the only one I ever do love."

She smiled slightly as she tried to guide him back down for another kiss. Life wasn't perfect for either of them. Samarah was going to have to leave her old new life behind just to start a new one with Lyle. She wouldn't be able to go back to her kindergarten class and pick up where she left off. Lyle would have to start over again, as well, as someone human, not psychotic. But together, they would probably be able to do it. It wouldn't be as lonely since they had each other. Starting over would be better than it had been the first time, because she had someone she loved by her side, as clichéd as that sounded. Samarah had been alone her whole life, as had Lyle, so it would be a nice change to have someone there, someone who cared. And with someone who cared, life could seem almost perfect. After all, she was good at pretending.

**_THE END_**


End file.
